Let One's Heart Decide
by Hitora Gin
Summary: Finally, Chapter 11 is up! Sakuragi's sister and Rukawa's brother joins the Shohoku student body and things aren't like before, especially Sakuragi & Rukawa's behaviours. What could be causing this?
1. First Day New People

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 1:** First Day... New people   
  
"Onii-chan! Get up now!"   
"Gn... Haruko-san... gn..." Sakuragi Hanamichi mumbled in his sleep.   
  
_'Great. The first day of school and I'm going to be late,'_ Saukuragi Hatsuko grumbled silently. Feeling her temper rise, she kicked her brother in his guts and shouted at the top of her voice.   
  
"ONII-CHAN!"   
"AAH!"   
  
Sakuragi's eyes flew open and he jumped out of bed. Unfortunately, his legs were tangled in his sheets and he fell face first onto the floor. Despite her foul mood, she had to laugh at her brother's funny antics.   
  
"Nanda, Hatsuko?" Sakuragi asked, rubbing his nose.   
  
Still giggling, Hatsuko pointed at Sakuragi's clock. His eyes nearly popped out of its sockets when he saw the time.   
  
"AAH! I promised Haruko-san that I'd meet her in school now!" he yelled. "And you can still laugh?" he asked his sister in disbelief.   
  
Pushing his still giggling sister out of his room, he shook his head.   
  
"You know that no matter how fast we leave, we'll never make it in time, ne?" Hatsuko asked her eyes teary.   
  
Sakuragi merely grinned in reply before shutting the door in her face.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Ore wa tensai..." Sakuragi sang.   
  
He was cycling his bicycle at top speed with his sister standing at the back, hanging onto his shoulder.   
  
"AAAAHHHH!!"   
"Heh heh," Sakuragi laughed, his eyes glinting evilly.   
"Onii-chan! Yamete!!" Hatsuko screamed and proceeded to punch her brother's back with her right fist.   
"I... Itai! Itai!!"   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Sigh. I can't believe Onii-san can't get up. I even got hit by his pillows," Rukawa sighed, cycling slowly to school.   
  
All of a sudden, he was hit by a strong gust of wind and he saw a flash of red and blue. Accompanying the 'thing' was a shrill scream. Curious, Rukawa cycled quickly to catch up. On the way, Rukawa saw four guys in the Shohoku High uniform on a pink scooter, which moving so slowly that a little kitten was able to pass by them. Rukawa picked up the kitten as he passed by it and cradled it in the crook of his left arm while trying to balance himself. When he rode into the compounds of Shohoku High, he was immediately flocked by a group of girls who were chanting his name.   
  
"RUKAWA! RUKAWA!"   
  
Rukawa shook his head and parked his bicycle. Seeing a crowd, he walked towards it. As he was tall, he peered over the crowd and saw a bicycle wreck and two people sprawled over it. Suddenly, one of them, a guy with close cropped red-hair, hopped up and started laughing.   
  
"See Hatsuko! I told you we'd get in school on time!"   
"And we almost got killed too," the girl from the wreck muttered, getting up slowly, rubbing her arm and wincing.   
  
Suddenly, the red-haired guy spotted him and his eyes turned raving mad.   
  
"Teme, Rukawa. What are you looking at?!" he shouted, marching towards him.   
  
The girl tried to pull him back by tugging on his uniform but to no avail. The crowd parted to let him through.   
  
"Onii-chan! Yamete!"   
"Ore?" Rukawa asked. "Everyone was looking. Was it wrong for me to look?"   
  
His eyes widened in surprise as the guy looked into his face and examined him.   
  
"Don't do anything to Rukawa, you red-haired weirdo!" the group of girls shouted, surrounding them.   
  
Sakuragi backed away and laughed.   
  
"HAHAHA! You're not Rukawa, are you? Your eye's different."   
  
Loud whisperings were suddenly heard.   
  
"Eh? I am Rukawa," Rukawa replied, frowning at the weird question.   
"But you're not Rukawa Kaede, right?" Sakuragi countered.   
  
Finally, realization dawned on him.   
  
_'Oh! They thought I was Onii-san!'_ he thought.   
  
"No. I am Rukawa Kazuo, younger brother of Rukawa Kaede," Kazuo said, smiling.   
  
Everyone was amazed. Rukawa Kazuo looked exactly like Rukawa Kaede except that he showed his emotions openly and there was a twinkle in his eyes, unlike Rukawa, with his straight poker face and expressionless eyes. When Kazuo smiled, it was almost like seeing Rukawa smile.   
  
"Hah! Tensai knew it!" Sakuragi said, putting an arm around Kazuo's shoulders. "Ore wa tensai basketman, Sakuragi Hanamichi. Also the King of Rebounds." Whispering, he added, "I am a lot better than that kitsune brother of yours."   
  
Kazuo grinned weakly and nodded.   
  
"Ohayou! I am Sakuragi Hatsuko," the girl said, bowing.   
"Ohayou," Kazuo said, blushing.   
  
Hatsuko was beautiful. Her long raven black shoulder length hair was plaited here and there in no particular fashion and she was looking at him with her large and sparkling brown eyes. With her smile, she sent shivers down his spine. Kazuo scratched his head and looked at the ground, embarrassed. The kitten he picked up earlier began to mew around his feet.   
  
"Ohayou, neko-chan," Hatsuko greeted the kitten and patted its head. "Is it yours?" she asked.   
"Oh! I saw it this morning and picked it up..."   
  
Suddenly, a crash was heard and Sakuragi's laugh was silenced. Kazuo saw his brother's bicycle on the ground with Sakuragi under it. His brother was about half a meter away. Sakuragi jumped up and rushed over to Rukawa wih his fists raised.   
  
"Oi! Hanamichi!"   
  
Kazuo looked up and saw the four guys on the pink scooter earlier, rushing over to Sakuragi. Instead of stopping him, they ended up on the ground, next to the bicycle, with lumps on their heads. Even smoke was rising from the lumps. His brother got up and blinked his eyes rapidly. Sakuragi started to curse.   
  
"TEME! KITSUNE! HOW DARE YOU TREAT TENSAI THIS WAY!!!"   
  
Rukawa walked off but he did not forget to add his trademark "d'aho" as he did.   
  
"GRRR..." Sakuragi growled.   
  
Suddenly, two people shorter that Sakuragi appeared and pulled him back.   
  
"Yamete, Hanamichi!"   
"Mitchy! Ryochin!"   
  
Kazuo grinned slightly and jogged up to his brother.   
  
"Onii-san," he said.   
  
Rukawa gave him a sideway glance and nodded his head in greeting. As they walked abreast, they practically looked like twins. The same raven black hair and pale white skin. Kazuo was slightly shorter than Rukawa but his hair was slightly longish and his ice blue eyes sparkled with friendliness. Girls giggled and blushed as the brothers walked pass. Kazuo smiled sweetly at them whereas Rukawa ignored them completely.   
  
"Rukawa-kun! Rukawa-kun!"   
  
Both brothers turned and saw Sakuragi Hatsuko.   
  
"Eh? Are the two of you brothers?" she asked in amazement at their similar appearances.   
"Hai, he's my onii-san. The one whom everyone thought I was," Kazuo said.   
"Oh! Ohayou, Rukawa Kaede-san!" Hatsuko said, bowing.   
  
Rukawa who was just silently staring at her with his expressionless eyes, just nodded his head a little. Smiling, Hatsuko brought out the kitten from her duffel bag.   
  
"Here, Rukawa Kazuo-kun. Neko-chan misses you, I think," she said, laughing at her silliness.   
"Arigatou, Hatsuko-san," Kazuo said, before passing the kitten to his brother. "I took it for you, onii-san," he added.   
  
The kitten snuggled itself in the crook of Rukawa's arm and yawned.   
  
"Kawaii," Hatsuko cooed, admiring the kitten. "Oh! I have to go. Sayonara, Rukawa Kaede-san, Rukawa Kazuo-kun," she said, grinning before running off.   
  
"She is..." Rukawa inquired.   
"Sakuragi Hatsuko. Your basketball team member's sister. Doushite?" Kazuo answered.   
  
Rukawa shook his head and walked off.   
  
  
**Author's note:** Er... you might not like Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi to have siblings but I think it's cute. *shrugs* I've never read of a fic like this so... voila? heh heh. 


	2. First Basketball Practice

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 2:** First Basketball Practice   
  
"I'm Miyagi Ryota, Captain of the Shohoku Basketball Team. Please introduce yourselves," Ryota instructed.   
  
The first years began to introduce themselves, telling the rest of the team their names, class, height, weight, and played positions. Finally, it was Kazuo's turn.   
  
"Kazuo. I'm Rukawa Kazuo. I'm 1.85m and my weight is 70kg. Like my aniki, I can play any position," he said, grinning at Rukawa.   
  
Rukawa gave him a cold stare and rolled his eyes as the rest of the team began whispering. It was already bad enough that his brother was in the same school as him as his fans will ask all about him and Kazuo would be glad of the attention. Kazuo is also in the basketball team and he has to put up with him at school, practice and at home, and also his strong sense of rivalry in everything.   
In his mind, Rukawa knew that this year was going to turn out horrible. Captain Akagi's sister, Haruko, became the assistant manager, and Rukawa didn't like that as he would have to get along with her and he knew that she was infatuated with him. To make matters worse, he had a bad feeling that the basketball team wouldn't go far without the previous third-years, Captain Akagi Takenori, Vice-Captain Kogure Kiminobu and the excellent three-pointer and former junior high MVP, Mitsui Hisashi. He looked at the side of the courts to see the three standing next to the sitting coach.   
Rukawa was in such deep thought that he didn't notice that all the seniors who were present had already introduced themselves to the first-years.   
  
"Rukawa. Rukawa," Ryota called the ace of Shohoku.   
  
Rukawa snapped out of his thoughts and glared at the first-years.   
  
"Rukawa Kaede."   
  
All the first-years but Kazuo stiffened.   
  
"Onii-san, don't look so serious, will you?" Kazuo said to his brother, trying to ease the tension.   
  
Instead, he received yet another chilling glare and was forced to shut up. Suddenly, a song could be heard and it was so off-key that most of them winced.   
  
"Ore wa tensai... basketman! Rukawa... lalala"   
  
Rukawa frowned when Sakuragi stepped into the gym.   
  
"The tensai has arrived!" he announced, laughing loudly.   
  
Suddenly, he was pounded on the head and he looked up to see his attacker.   
  
"GORI!" he cried out. "What are you doing here?"   
"To check up on all of you! Especially you, bakamono!!" Akagi shouted, pounding him again.   
"Itai! Gori!" Sakuragi yelped, clutching his head. His hair was growing and it looked a little spiky now.   
"Now, he is our resident crazy basketball player. He's crazy but never doubt his basketball skills," Ryota told them.   
"Ryochin," Sakuragi murmured, his eyes watering.   
"Hanamichi, don't be late again. You're a senior!" Ryota told him off.   
"Datte you're not gonna hit me like Gori, are you, Ryochin?" Sakuragi asked, watching out for Akagi out of the corner of his eyes.   
"He won't but I would!"   
  
Ayako was standing at the entrance of the gym holding onto her trademark paper fan. Standing meekly next to her was Haruko and she was dressed similarly to Ayako, in short tights and a baggy shirt. The only difference was that she did not wear a cap but tied her hair in two braids.   
  
"Aya-chan!"   
"Ayako-san! Haruko-san!" Sakuragi blushed when he saw the latter.   
"Sakuragi-kun, you have to be good now that you're a senior," Haruko said sweetly.   
  
Sakuragi blushed a deeper shade of red and nodded his head vigorously. Rukawa turned away and sighed.   
  
_'Why was everyone making such a big fuss over him anyway? He is nothing but a troublemaker.'_ Rukawa thought angrily. _'We're wasting time.'_   
  
Kazuo caught his brother's eyes and gave him a sympathetic look. Rukawa pretended not to catch his look but picked up a ball instead and dribbled to the post and dunked. The whole post shook at the strength of the dunk and finally, Ryota called practice to a start.   
  
"Teme, Rukawa! What a show-off!"   
"RUKAWA! RUKAWA! L-O-V-E, RUKAWA!"   
"Grr.." Sakuragi growled.   
  
Practice for the day was very basic. Just some passes and shots. After three hours, it was called to an end.   
  
"Right, minna. Meet here at 3:30pm tomorrow," Ryota told them.   
"UI!"   
  
"Yohei, if Hatsuko comes, tell her to wait for me," Sakuragi told his best friend who came to watch their practice with the rest of the Gundan.   
"Sure, but hurry up," Yohei said.   
  
A few minutes later, Hatsuko came and looked around.   
  
"Eh, onii-chan doko e?" she asked Yohei.   
"Taking a bath, I think. Hey, Hat-chan, wanna play?" he asked, holding up a basketball.   
"You're on!" she said grinning.   
  
Hatsuko tapped the ball from Yohei's grasp and picked it up. She dribbled it to the nearest post and was about to shoot when Yohei was right next to her.   
  
_'I guess there goes my lay-up,'_ she thought.   
  
She backed up but Yohei stuck close to her. Yohei grinned.   
  
"I learnt a lot from watching your brother play," Yohei told her.   
"I learnt a lot more from his lessons, Yo-chan," Hatsuko told Yohei.   
  
Yohei's eyes widened as Hatsuko did a feint and stepped behind the three-pointer line. In a fluid motion, she jumped and shot and the ball sailed gracefully into the net.   
  
"Yoshi!"   
"You're good, Hat-chan," Yohei said.   
"Of course! She has tensai blood in her!" Sakuragi said, appearing.   
"Onii-chan, what took you so long?" Hatsuko pouted, punching her brother lightly on his arm.   
"Oi!"   
"You must be Hatsuko," a girl with dark brown hair tied in two braids said to her.   
  
She was slightly shorter than her and really pretty.   
  
"Haruko-san!" Sakuragi shouted so loudly that the Gundan has to clamp their ears.   
"Haruko-san? Oh! Haruko-san! I heard a lot about you from onii-chan," Hatsuko said, looking at her brother who was desperately trying to tell her to keep her mouth shut and not tell Haruko his feelings for her.   
  
"Ditto."   
  
Unknown to them, outside the gym, in the darkness, stood Rukawa Kaede who was observing the small group. When he saw Kazuo, he walked away.   
  
"Onii-san, going home?" Kazuo asked, but as usual, he didn't get a reply.   
  
He began to mop the floor with the rest of the first-years, watching the small group with the corner of his eyes.   
Sakuragi was admiring Haruko when he noticed scratches and bruises on his friends.   
  
"Yohei, what's up?" he said softly, lifting his chin a little.   
"Let's go outside," came the reply.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Why do I have to wait for you everyday after school? I'm sixteen, you know! I don't need you to protect me!" Hatsuko yelled at her brother on their way home.   
"Does this have anything to do with your friends being involved in a fight?" she demanded.   
"How did you..." Sakuragi started.   
"Onii-chan, I'm not blind! You've been fighting a lot even when Okaa-chan told you not to. If you hadn't been fighting, Otou-chan wouldn't be dead!"   
  
Sakuragi looked at the ground and immediately, Hatsuko regretted what she had just said.   
  
"Onii-chan, gomen-nasai. I didn't mean it."   
"Wakatta, wakatta."   
"Really! I mean, we wouldn't have been reunited otherwise, ne?" Hatsuko said, trying to sound cheerful.   
  
In Sakuragi's junior high school days, he picked a fight with a group of gangsters and defeated them. Upon reaching home, he found his father on the floor of their house and he was running to the hospital to get help when the group of thugs caught up to him with their backup. Due to this, Sakuragi's father passed away.   
When he did, Sakuragi's mother took him in. At a very young age, his parents were divorced. His father took him whereas Hatsuko was taken by his mother. When his mother learnt of the cause of her ex-husband's death, she made Sakuragi swear never to fight again. He did swear but he doesn't keep it. Hatsuko who adores her brother doesn't want to tell on him so till now, their mother is clueless on the happenings of her children's' lives.   
  
"So, will you wait for me everyday after school? Please? Your life is in danger," Sakuragi pleaded.   
Sighing, Hatsuko agreed. "But you have to come shopping with me tomorrow."   
"Wha.." Sakuragi's eyes bulged. "Anything but that!"   
  
Sakuragi turned chibi and started crying and Hatsuko, who was grinning mischievously, patted her chibi brother's head. Rivers of tears flowed from his slit eyes.   
  
"Iya..." he sobbed.   
  
  
**Author's note:** Finally! The next chapter is up, ne? It's a little shorter than intended but if I continued with the next part, it would be way too long. Oh well. 


	3. Intrusion

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 3:** Intrusion   
  
It was hardly dawn yet a lone figure was cycling very quickly. The sky was beginning to have a slightly pinkish tinge when the figure looked at the sky and admired its beauty.   
Rukawa Kaede was listening to his portable CD player and silently humming the words of the song whilst admiring the sky. Out of the corner of his eye, Rukawa caught a figure cycling madly to catch up to him. Instead of slowing down, he increased his speed. No matter how fast he went, the figure still caught up to him.   
Rukawa turned to look at his brother who looked like a goldfish; his mouth was opening and closing as he tried to talk to him. Rukawa frowned and plugged the earpiece out of his ears, adding an icy stare as he looked at his brother.   
  
"Onii-san, why didn't you wait for me?" Kazuo asked, desperately.   
  
Beads of perspiration clung to his face and he panted to keep up. Rukawa merely looked away and continued to cycle, staring at the road straight ahead. They finally arrived at a basketball court which was situated not that far from Shohoku or the train station. Rukawa sighed inwardly when he heard dribbling from the court.   
  
"If I waited for you, we'd be even later," Rukawa grumbled.   
"I'm sure whoever that person is, they'd share the court with us," Kazuo said, walking to the court after parking his bike.   
  
When Rukawa heard talking, he stiffened and his eyes narrowed. He quickly grabbed his brother by the collar and threw him into a bush.   
  
"OI!"   
  
Rukawa joined Kazuo. They crouched and pushed some leaves aside.   
  
"Hatsuko-san!" Kazuo whispered excitedly.   
  
Rolling his eyes at his brother's childish behaviour, Rukawa thought, _'Yappari. Sakuragi and his sister. His voice is so recognizable.'_   
Sakuragi and his sister were playing one on one and both the Rukawa siblings could tell that their team mate was irritated.   
  
"I can't believe this. Why do I have to play with you? You're no challenge!" Sakuragi growled.   
"Too bad! You said that you wanted to keep me within your sight, ne?" Hatsuko replied, grinning. "Besides, we haven't even started playing yet so you can't complain if I'm a challenge or not!"   
"But you didn't have to bring me to the lingerie department when we went shopping last week, did you?" Sakuragi asked angrily as blush spread across his cheeks, dribbling the basketball as though he was trying to break the ground.   
  
Rukawa and Kazuo blushed and sweatdropped. Hatsuko giggled and tapped the ball from her distracted brother's hands in one swift move, causing her long raven black hair, which was tied in a ponytail, to swing slightly. Rukawa, who was observing the little game, muttered "D'aho" at Sakuragi's mistake.   
Sakuragi's ears widened and twitched. Noticing that her brother didn't attempt to steal the ball back from her, Hatsuko stopped.   
  
"Nii-chan?"   
  
Sakuragi crept towards the bushes and pushed it apart. There, hiding, were the Rukawa brothers in SD form, with their right hands behind their right ears.   
  
"OI!" Sakuragi shouted at them.   
  
Both of them looked up and blinked their eyes rapidly. Sakuragi, who was standing in the path of the sun's rays, looked as though he was glowing. Add that to the hatred he has towards Rukawa, he looked more like a burning devil than a glowing angel. Hatsuko peered from behind her brother.   
  
"Rukawa-san? Rukawa-kun? What are you doing there?" she asked surprised.   
  
The brothers stood up. Rukawa and Sakuragi glared so fiercely at each other that Hatsuko could practically see sparks.   
  
"Rukawa-kun, are you here to play?" asked Hatsuko when she saw Rukawa holding a basketball under his arm. She had to look up to talk to him. In their presence, she felt really short when she was actually quite tall for a girl, standing at 1.72m.   
"Oh yeah. Can we share the court with you and your onii-san, Hatsuko-san?" Kazuo replied, looking at the angel standing before him.   
"Hah! Yoshi! Now I can show kitsune how good the tensai really is!" Sakuragi proclaimed.   
"Yare yare," Rukawa muttered.   
  
Hatsuko giggled. Rukawa-san and her Onii-chan looked so kawaii when they argued. Rukawa looked at Hatsuko from the corner of his eyes. Hatsuko noticed and gave him a warm smile.   
  
"Let's play two on two, ne?"   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
The sun's rays beat heavily upon the four. Beads of sweat formed on their skin and occasionally, one of them would wipe their forehead with their shirt of sleeve.   
  
"Kuso," Sakuragi muttered.   
  
They have been playing for more than an hour and the gap in their score was too wide. Hatsuko looked at her brother and bit her lip.   
  
"Onii-chan," she started.   
  
Sakuragi shook his head. _'No. It's not her fault. She's a girl and we're fighting not one, but two Rukawas,'_ he thought.   
  
Throughout the entire match, Hatsuko has been defending Kazuo, and Sakuragi - Rukawa. The Sakuragi siblings managed to steal a few balls but could never stop the Rukawa brothers from eluding. Rukawa and Kazuo hardly passed the ball to each other so there was no possible chance for them to do a cut.   
Rukawa, who was dribbling, gave his brother a glance and signaled with a small nod. With a nod returned, both of them advanced to the Sakuragi siblings and upon nearing them, they did a switch such that Hatsuko was defending Rukawa instead of Kazuo.   
  
"KUSO!" Sakuragi yelled.   
"No use sempai. I won't let you through," Kazuo told him, when Sakuragi tried to elude to help his sister.   
  
Hatsuko defended Rukawa with a look of determination. Every time she moved forward to tap the ball, Rukawa would dribble the ball behind him or dribble the ball to his other hand. On her fourth attempt, Rukawa eluded her but like Sakuragi, she had speed so she caught up to him immediately.   
Panting, she looked into Rukawa's eyes to try and read his movements. Instead, she found concern mirrored in them. Tilting her head to one side, she smiled and shook her head.   
  
"Ikuzo, Rukawa-san," she said softly.   
  
Rukawa's mouth twitched. He advanced forward and moved sharply to the left. Hatsuko moved to block him off but he did a roll and eluded her. Hatsuko ran after him and realized that the area under the basket was unblocked as her brother was being screened out far away from the basket by Kazuo.   
As Rukawa leapt, Hatsuko leapt after him in a desperate attempt to tap the ball. However, Rukawa's jump was too high and the ball was out of reach. Hatsuko bumped into Rukawa in mid-air instead and began to fall as Rukawa smashed the ball through the hoop.   
Hatsuko shut her eyes and allowed herself to fall, hoping that it wouldn't be too painful if she did. She felt herself land but it was a rather soft landing than she expected. She opened her eyes and found herself looking into a pair of smiling and bright blue eyes.   
  
"Daijoubu ka?" he asked, grinning.   
"Eh? Daijoubu," she said.   
  
The person was still carrying her in his arms. She started to blush deeply and only then did he realize that he was still carrying her that the person put her down.   
  
"Gomen, gomen," he smiled sheepishly.   
"Iie. Arigato. Anata wa donata desu ka?" she asked, looking up at the person before her.   
"Ore wa…"   
  
Before the person could reply, Sakuragi interrupted him.   
  
  
**Author's note:** AAH! Another short chapter!! Gomen, gomen! It was supposed to be longer than this but I did a word count and it went over 2000 words and I want my fic chapters to have between 1000-1500 words only so be content with this much for now, kay? Gomen again! 


	4. Not Like Before

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 4:** Not Like Before   
  
"Sendoh!" he shouted, pushing Kazuo aside and running to them. "Daijoubu ka?" he asked Hatsuko.   
"Hai, Daijoubu onii-chan. Goshinpainaku," she replied, smiling. "Anata wa Sendoh Akira desu ka?" Hatsuko turned to Sendoh.   
"Ah, Sendoh desu. Donata desu ka?" he smiled.   
  
Sakuragi growled and pushed them apart.   
  
"Stop being so formal!! She is my sister Hatsuko and he is one of my rivals, Sendoh. Bow if you must but stop it already!" Sakuragi said, exasperated.   
  
Sendoh and Hatsuko bowed at each other and laughed at the crazed look on Sakuragi's face.   
  
"Onii-chan! You're so impolite!" Hatsuko grumbled.   
  
Away from the group, Kazuo was looking enviously at Sendoh. He had not even made any physical contact with Hatsuko and they have been in the same school for a week already. Now, here comes Sendoh Akira, ace of Ryonan, the guy who appears in many sports magazines, and he gets to carry her.   
  
_'But it's my fault. Baka. I didn't rush up to catch her when she was falling,'_ he mentally scolded himself.   
  
Kazuo looked at his brother who was panting near the post. He was glaring at Sendoh.   
  
"Nice move there, Hatsuko-chan. Too bad you couldn't reach the ball though," Sendoh commented.   
"Ah, Rukawa-san is too good of a player for me to match up on him," Hatsuko admitted. "Ah! Rukawa-san!" she exclaimed, as if she suddenly remembered something.   
  
Hatsuko walked over to Rukawa.   
  
"Ne, Rukawa-san, daijoubu ka? I bumped into you pretty hard," Hatsuko said.   
  
Rukawa was going to ignore her but the earnest and sincere look on her face made him think otherwise.   
  
"Um.. I'm fine. It didn't hurt. You?" Rukawa asked, barely audible.   
"I'm fine. You're the third person to ask, you know," her eyes smiled in amusement.   
"Sou ka?"   
  
_'What's wrong with me? Why can't I speak normally?'_   
_'Cos you hardly speak, d'aho,'_ he scolded himself.   
  
Sendoh and Sakuragi followed slowly after Hatsuko.   
  
"Rukawa," Sendoh acknowledged.   
  
Rukawa just glared at his rival.   
  
"Did I see you bully a girl?" Sendoh asked mischievously.   
"I always play seriously," Rukawa answered, taking Sendoh's comment seriously.   
"Rukawa, you had better be glad that Hatsuko wasn't hurt or I would tear you to pieces!"   
"Sendoh-san, Onii-chan, it wasn't Rukawa-san's fault," Hatsuko said defensively. "I was the one who challenged him!"   
"Nani? Doushite?" Kazuo asked, walking to the group.   
"If you were playing against Rukawa-san, wouldn't you?" she simply replied, looking pointedly at Sendoh and her brother.   
  
With her reply, she shocked everyone, even Rukawa.   
  
"Ne, Onii-chan, I'm going home now. You stay here and play with the big boys," she told Sakuragi. "Sendoh-san, can you please take my place?"   
"Sure, no problem," Sendoh said, grinning.   
"Can you bend over a little?" she asked.   
  
Raising an eyebrow, Sendoh bent over and Hatsuko ran her hand over his spiky hair.   
  
"Kawaii ne! And it's quite sharp too!"   
  
Sendoh turned a little pink.   
  
"You know, your brother did the same thing when we first met," he replied, grinning.   
"Really?"   
"Hatsuko, if you don't want to play, at least wait 'till I'm done. Remember our deal! And you even tortured me with that shopping trip!" Sakuragi reminded her.   
  
Rukawa and Kazuo blushed a little at what they heard when they eavesdropped earlier.   
  
"Aw… I promise I'd go home straight." Raising her right hand, Hatsuko said, "I, Sakuragi Hatsuko, do solemnly swear, to go home immediately after my Nii-chan, Sakuragi Hanamichi, dismisses me."   
  
Sendoh and Kazuo burst out laughing whereas Rukawa's mouth only twitched.   
  
"Go! I dismiss you!" he shouted and pointed at the exit.   
"Arigatou, Nii-chan," she said and pulled her brother down to peck on his cheek.   
Sakuragi hugged her tight and whispered, "Promise me."   
"I promise, Nii-chan," she whispered back, hugging him back.   
  
Hatsuko could feel her eyes stinging. Her brother cared so much for her and he was doing all he could to protect her, even if he had to embarrass himself in front of his friends. He was also taking the role of a father and it must be a really heavy responsibility for a seventeen-year old.   
  
"Er… is there something going on here?" Sendoh asked, hesitantly.   
"Whoops!" Hatsuko blushed and immediately let go of her brother and Sakuragi did the same but he was beet red.   
"I'd better go now. Ja, Nii-chan, Rukawa-san, Sendoh-san, Rukawa-kun!" she said, waving.   
  
After she left, Kazuo said, "Sempai, you two are really close, aren't you? Affectionate too."   
  
Sakuragi merely nodded. It was obvious that he was distracted – probably worried about his sister.   
  
"Why do you insist that she be around you all the time? She has friends," Rukawa said so suddenly that Sendoh jumped.   
"That is none of your business, Rukawa!" Sakuragi shouted.   
"Hey, Sakuragi, Rukawa's just concerned. So are the rest of us," Sendoh told the fiery red-head, trying to calm him down.   
"It's just that I'm her older brother. I need to protect her. That's all. I don't know what I'll do if she ends up hurt," he said fiercely, his fists clenched.   
"Protect her? What from? From your world? A world which involves endless fights?" Rukawa asked sternly, his cold blue eyes glowing with anger.   
  
Sakuragi didn't react like he used to.   
  
"Like I said, it's none of your business," he said.   
  
With that, he punched a little tree near the court so hard that the trunk broke.   
  
"Are we going to play or not?"   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Ever since I saw Hatsuko with Sakuragi, Sakuragi's changed. Hasn't he, Rukawa?" Sendoh said, looking up at the sky. "He's no longer that braggart that everyone despises. He has really matured a lot."   
  
Rukawa remained silent, just listening to Sendoh talk and their footsteps. It was unusually quiet for a Sunday afternoon.   
  
"What do you think?" Sendoh looked at him.   
  
Sendoh's eyes showed his seriousness. He wasn't joking. This was how his eyes looked like when he plays basketball.   
  
"He's still the same," Rukawa simply replied.   
  
They were leaving the basketball court. Sakuragi decided to leave early so the rest abandoned their game as well. Kazuo left soon after and Rukawa felt that Sendoh didn't feel like playing and neither did he.   
  
"You know what I mean. I don't expect you to say much but come on, I think he needs our help," Sendoh said. "You really surprised me back there, you know."   
"I only speak when I feel like speaking. That's all," Rukawa muttered defensively.   
"So you feel like speaking now?" Sendoh asked, raising an eyebrow.   
  
Rukawa sighed. He had already said a lot. He might as well. To Sendoh, he nodded.   
  
"Why not?"   
"Hm… that's a good start."   
"Don't act like a psychiatrist, telling me to tell you all my feelings," Rukawa warned Sendoh.   
"Chee… there I was thinking you would finally open up," Sendoh grumbled but with his ever-present smile on his face.   
  
They walked to the park and talked till dusk.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
Hatsuko panted and she slammed the door shut. Leaning against the door, she let her tears flow. She should have waited for her brother. She could sense that all the way home, she was being followed but she did not manage to get a glimpse of her follower. She was so afraid that she ran all the way. She knew that she needed her brother to protect her.   
  
_'But am I to rely on him all the time?'_ she wondered.   
  
With no one at home, her mother being at work, and Sakuragi still playing basketball, Hatsuko stumbled up the stairs to her bedroom. Suddenly, she heard the door open.   
  
"Tadaima!" Sakuragi shouted.   
  
_'I can't tell Onii-chan. It'll only trouble him more,'_ she thought. Roughly wiping the tears from her face the back of a hand, she walked downstairs to start on dinner.   
  
"Nii-chan, back so soon? I just came home, you know!" Hatsuko said cheerfully.   
"Sou ka? I took a cab home," Sakuragi told her without looking at her.   
"Demo you can't waste any money, you know. With our situation and all…" Hatsuko said, her voice trailing.   
  
Sakuragi was eating cereal straight from the box. Hatsuko was glad. At least he won't see her face.   
  
"Oi, were you crying, Hatsuko?" Sakuragi asked, frowning in concern.   
  
_'Guess I thought too soon,'_ Hatsuko thought.   
  
"Er.. I…" Hatsuko started.   
"You miss Otou-chan, huh? Come here," Sakuragi said, giving his sister a warm hug. "Okaa-chan told me you usually cried when you missed us. It's okay, I miss him too."   
  
When Sakuragi said that, Hatsuko cried.   
  
"Hey! Are you okay? Hatsuko!" Sakuragi asked urgently.   
"Um… Nii-chan, arigato," Hatsuko said, her voice barely audible as she cried into his shirt.   
"What for?" Sakuragi asked softly.   
"Everything," she told him.   
  
When she looked up at him, Sakuragi's heart ached. How he wanted to protect his sister and provide her with all the happiness she desires. But he can't do that. In his heart, he knew that sooner or later, he's fast- paced gangster life was going to catch up with her and he was going to regret his past decision so greatly when the time comes.   
  
"I guess Rukawa is right after all," Sakuragi muttered.   
"Eh?" Hatsuko sniffled.   
"Iya, nande mo nai. Ne, where's dinner?" Sakuragi asked.   
"I haven't started?" Hatsuko said meekly. "You'll help prepare it, ne, Nii-chan?"   
"Fine, fine," Sakuragi said.   
  
When he looked at his shirt, he yelped when he saw a large patch of wetness.   
  
"You wet my shirt," he said, his eyes narrowed to slits.   
"Eep! Gomen! But it was already wet with your sweat, ne?"   
"That's not the point!"   
  
With that, he chased his sister around the house, growling with his sister screaming, giggling and running for her dear life.   
  
  
**Author's note:** I wanted to make Rukawa slowly open up his feelings and show Sakuragi's maturity when the time arises. I also wanted to show the type of sibling relationship Sakuragi and his sister shared in comparison to Rukawa and Kazuo. Gomen again! 


	5. Beginning of Change

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 5:** Beginning of Change   
  
"Onii-san, why were you home so late last night?" Kazuo asked his brother sleepily when he entered the kitchen, scratching his head and causing his already tousled shaggy raven black hair to become messier.   
  
Rukawa merely shrugged as he spooned the last of his cereal into his mouth and got up to leave for school.   
  
"Okaa-san, I'm leaving," he told his mother in a monotonous voice. Turning to Kazuo, he raised his eyebrows in question.   
"Huh?"   
"School. You coming?"   
  
Kazuo's sleepy eyes widened.   
  
"It's Monday?! Aah! I'm going to be late!" Kazuo yelled, rushing back to his room.   
"D'aho," Rukawa muttered, rolling his eyes.   
  
In his room, Kazuo struggled to change into his uniform. His eye caught the scrunchie he picked up yesterday. Thinking about it, he grinned and blushed a little.   
  
"Kazuo, Kaede has already left! You might want to hurry," his mother shouted from the kitchen.   
"Hai, hai!" he shouted, hopping on one foot as he tried to pull on his sock. "Onii-san is so impatient," Kazuo grumbled under his breath.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Kuso, where's my scrunchie?" Hatsuko muttered while looking around her room.   
  
With ten minutes left before school started, Hatsuko rushed to her brother's room.   
  
"Nii-chan! You don't want to be late again, do you?" Hatsuko yelled, banging on Sakuragi's bedroom door repetitively until her hand hurt. "Nii-chan!! Nine minutes!"   
  
Sakuragi opened the door with a frown. He was already wide awake and fully dressed.   
  
"Why make such a racket in the morning?"   
"Er… cos I thought you were still asleep?"   
"Tsk tsk tsk," Sakuragi smiled, shaking his index finger at his little sister. "Do no underestimate the punctuality of a tensai."   
"What does punctuality have to do with being a tensai?" Hatsuko asked, a bemused expression on her face.   
"Nothing! Just wanted to remind you that your Nii-chan is a tensai and that we're going to be late," Sakuragi answered, laughing and running out of the house.   
"NII-CHAN!"   
  
When Hatsuko raced out of the house, Sakuragi had already cycled a good distance away. Pouting, she pulled on her rollerblades, piled her hair on her head and put on a baseball cap so that it will not interfere with her as she race to catch up with her brother.   
Sakuragi turned to look as a girl in a Shohoku uniform and a red baseball cap in a pair of rollerblades racing and struggling to catch up with him.   
  
_'Hatsuko?'_ he thought, grinning.   
  
He turned a corner and almost collided with a speeding… bike?!   
  
"Rukawa!!" he shouted, as he swerved his bicycle and tried to maintain his balance. _'Unusual of Rukawa to be wide-awake and cycling like any normal human being,'_ Sakuragi thought as they cycled abreast.   
  
To Rukawa, he said, "Rukawa! You almost made Tensai injured! How dare you!"   
  
Rukawa gave him a sidelong glance but otherwise, ignored him.   
  
"You dare ignore Tensai?"   
  
Hatsuko finally caught up to her brother and her eyes smiled with pleasure when she saw Rukawa with her brother. She liked he argued with her brother and made him irritated. It was really amusing to watch, though mean.   
  
"Ohayou, Rukawa-san!" she greeted him cheerfully and she bladed in between the two.   
  
Rukawa turned to look at Hatsuko and his eyes widened in shock. She looked almost like a female version of Sakuragi, with the red baseball cap on, but also not. He quickly nodded his greeting.   
  
"Eh, Rukawa-san? Daijoubu ka?" Hatsuko asked, frowning a little as Rukawa took quite awhile to acknowledge her greeting.   
"Ah. Daijoubu," he muttered.   
  
Sakuragi frowned.   
  
"I shall not grace that kitsune with my Tensai presence. Hatsuko, if you don't want your not-so-great-as-mine tensai skills to disappear, you might want to stay away from him. He's affecting my basketball skills," Sakuragi informed his sister, cycling ahead of them.   
"D'aho. You need more practice," Rukawa said but Sakuragi was laughing too loudly to hear him.   
"Nii-chan!" Hatsuko yelled at her brother, embarrassed. "Gomen ne, Rukawa-san. He's always like that," she apologized, turning to Rukawa.   
"Iie. Not your fault. Actually, I'm quite used to his insults," Rukawa said.   
  
Rukawa looked at the shocked look on the girl's face.   
  
"Nani?"   
"People told me that you were a man of few words except when you're arguing with Ni-chan and I believed them, until now," Hatsuko said.   
"I talk when I want to or need to. No big deal," Rukawa replied.   
"So… now, is your talking a want or need?" Hatsuko asked curiously, her brown eyes sparkling.   
"Want, I guess. I don't need to speak to you," Rukawa said.   
"I know but why want?"   
  
As Rukawa stared at the road ahead, he knew that he was at wits end. Unlike her simple-minded brother, Hatsuko was witty and very hard to satisfy.   
  
"I wanted to ask you about this," he quickly said, tapping her cap.   
"Ah. I lost my one and only scrunchie and in order to catch up with Nii-chan, and without getting my hair in a mess or letting it get in my way, I put it on this morning," Hatsuko explained.   
  
Rukawa sighed inwardly with relief. Thank goodness she didn't ask him more about his loquaciousness.   
  
"Oh no! We're late," Hatsuko wailed as they came to the school gate.   
  
Sakuragi was the only one there and he was waiting for them. He looked at them but shifted his gave to someone behind him. Kazuo was but a few feet away and he was glaring at him. Rukawa returned the glare and cycled into the school compound.   
  
"Rukawa-kun?" Hatsuko turned and bladed backwards so that she was facing Kazuo. "Late too?"   
"Uh-huh. I thought today was a Sunday," he said sheepishly.   
  
Hatsuko giggled.   
  
"Rukawa-kun no baka," she teased. "Hayaku. We're going to be really late."   
"Hai, Hatsuko-san," Kazuo said as he parked his bike.   
  
He glared at the retreating back of his brother as he entered the school building with the laughing Sakuragi. He clenched the scrunchie which he held in his right fist and the thought of his brother being chatty in the presence of Hatsuko made him envious.   
  
"Rukawa-kun?" Hatsuko called to him, jolting him out of his thoughts.   
  
Hatsuko pulled the cap off her head and her raven black hair cascaded pass her shoulders. Kazuo was awestruck by her beauty and could only stare with a slacked jaw.   
  
"Rukawa-kun, ikuzo," she said, pulling his hand and leading him into the school building.   
  
At her touch, Kazuo's heart fluttered. Realizing that he was still holding her scrunchie in his hand, he quickly stuffed it into his pocket and allowed her to pull him to their classroom.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
Hatsuko was walking towards her classroom after their lunch break when she heard the dribbling of a basketball from the indoor entrance of the gym.   
  
'Eh, who can that be?' she thought, curiously wondering who the person who was training so hard was.   
  
She slowly walked to the gym door and peeked through a small opening. Her eyes scanned the area but she could not find anyone there.   
  
"I thought I heard dribbling…" she muttered, still scanning the area from the opening.   
  
Unsatisfied, she slid the door open.   
  
"What are you doing?"   
  
Hatsuko yelped and fell backwards. Right in front of her was her brother, crouching with a suspicious look on his face. His expression then turned to amusement and he laughed heartily.   
  
"You should've seen the look on your face, Hatsuko," he said between laughs.   
"Nii-chan!!"   
  
Haruko walked out from behind the door, holding a basketball.   
  
"Mou Sakuragi-kun. You're very mean. Even Onii-chan doesn't scare me like that," she said, referring to Akagi Takenori, the previous year's basketball captain.   
"Haruko-san! We always play around like this. Isn't that right, Hatsuko?" Sakuragi replied urgently, his eyes begging her to agree.   
"Um… that's right, Haruko-san. It's just a little game we play. Don't worry, I'll get Nii-chan good next time," Hatsuko said, stretching her hand out so that Sakuragi would pull her up.   
"It's still mean though," Haruko insisted, as Sakuragi got up and pulled his sister up.   
  
Sakuragi looked heartbroken.   
  
"But it was a little funny," Haruko added, smiling.   
"Haruko-san!" Sakuragi said gratefully, a large smile on his face.   
"Nee, Haruko-san. How about helping me plan scare Nii-chan?" Hatsuko asked. "After all, I don't want to lose the game," she added, giving her brother a mischievous look.   
"Okay! We girls can't lose to guys like him, ne?" Haruko agreed, grinning.   
"Haruko-san!" Sakuragi exclaimed, his eyes tearing.   
  
The girls began to laugh at the look on Sakuragi's face.   
  
"Nee, what were you two doing in the gym? Playing basketball?" Hatsuko asked Haruko as the upset, super-deformed Sakuragi continued to cry.   
  
"Iie, I was training Sakuragi-kun. We always train during our breaks, ne, Sakuragi-kun?" Haruko asked Sakuragi, who immediately perked up.   
"Hai. Tensai actually doesn't need training but if Haruko-san insists, Tensai will do as she says," Sakuragi replied, punching a fist into the air.   
  
Haruko giggled whereas Hatsuko shook her head. It was so obvious that her brother was in head-over-heels over Haruko and as Hatsuko looked at her, she wondered if she noticed her brother's love for her. After all, it was very obvious.   
  
"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Hatsuko said, slapping a hand to her forehead. "Break was over when I came here but I totally forgot because someone scared me half to death," she added, looking pointedly at Sakuragi.   
  
Sakuragi looked around and scratched his chin.   
  
"Who?" he asked.   
"Oh no! We're ten minutes late," Haruko gasped, looking at her watch. "Sakuragi-kun, I have to go otherwise sensei will scream more than usual. Bye Hatsuko."   
"Haruko-san, matte!" Sakuragi shouted as the girl tossed the basketball to him and ran down the hall and around the corner.   
"Nii-chan, don't you have to go too?"   
Sakuragi looked at his sister and said, "Yeah, but the sensei is afraid of me so no sweat. What about you?"   
"The fact that Rukawa-kun and I received a detention slip this morning for being late won't make a difference if I'm late or not," Hatsuko answered. "Nee, Nii-chan, when you said your sensei is afraid of you, you mean you didn't get punished?"   
"Of course not!" he laughed again.   
"I won't wait for you again then," she pouted and walked off.   
"Oi, our deal! Hey! Hatsuko!"   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Shohoku… fight!"   
"UI!"   
  
"Sakuragi-san, is Hatsuko-san coming to watch our practice today?" Kazuo asked Sakuragi eagerly, when they were split into teams to practice shots, offense and defense.   
"Iya, I sent her home already. She didn't have training with her team today," Sakuragi answered, concentrating on his shot.   
  
He tried a jump shot but it missed.   
  
"Kuso!"   
"Sakuragi-san, you know…" Kazuo started.   
  
However, before he could finish, Ayako came over and whacked his head with her paper fan.   
  
"Get back to practice, Rukawa Kazuo!" she yelled.   
"Ayako-san!"   
  
Sakuragi looked over at the gym door to make sure that Haruko was looking at him but he found something else instead. When everyone was busy and was ignoring him, which was often, he sneaked out of the gym.   
However, Rukawa did see him sneak out and frowned under his bangs.   
  
"Rukawa, here!" Ryota called, asking for a pass.   
"Uh," he replied, passing the ball.   
"Hey, where's Hanamichi?" Ryota asked, looking around when he noticed the silence.   
  
Rukawa shrugged and continued with his practice.   
  
  
**Author's note:** None. 


	6. Secrets

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 6:** Secrets   
  
"Sakuragi Hanamichi! Where did you go halfway through practice the other day? And you didn't even come for practice after that!" Ayako told the tall red-head, smacking him on the head with her paper fan.   
  
Sakuragi turned to look at the basketball manageress and walked off without saying anything. He didn't even yelp like he usually does when he gets whacked.   
  
"Sakuragi Hanamichi?" Ayako called him, surprised.   
  
Sakuragi continued to trudge to his class ignoring everyone and everything around him. He just had a lot on his mind. Even when Hatsuko tried to cheer him up that morning, he didn't even pay much attention to her.   
  
"Yo, Hanamichi!" Yohei called out to him, with the rest of the Sakuragi Gundan behind him.   
"Yo," he mumbled.   
"Hanamichi, what's wrong with you? You finally got dumped by Haruko? Not like the both of you were even dating in the first place…" Takamiya said, grinning, when he saw the forlorn look on his friend's face.   
  
Yohei gave him a glare and grabbed Sakuragi's arm when he saw bruises on it. Sakuragi, as usual, was wearing his white shirt with his uniform trousers.   
  
"Did you get into a fight?" Yohei asked seriously, as he tried to look into his friend's eyes but somehow, Sakuragi was avoiding his gaze.   
"Hanamichi, you got into a fight and didn't even tell us?" Noma asked.   
"Yeah, how could you?" Ohkusu continued.   
  
Sakuragi pulled his arm away from Yohei and continued walking to class. Since Yohei was in the same class with him that year, Yohei continued to interrogate him. Takamiya, Ohkusu and Noma were left behind, as usual.   
  
"Hanamichi, so how was it?" Yohei asked. "Who was it?"   
"It was nothing. It wasn't even a fight," Sakuragi muttered.   
"Then how do you explain this?" Yohei asked angrily, pointing the bruises on his arm.   
  
He grabbed Sakuragi's shoulders hard and forced him to look at him. Sakuragi winced and Yohei immediately released his grip.   
  
"Hanamichi," he whispered, wondering what could be hurting his friend so much. He always shared his problems and Yohei always did his best to help.   
"I don't want to talk about it," Sakuragi said, finally looking down at his best friend.   
  
Yohei's eyes widened at the sight of the purplish blue bruise on the side of his right eye, and watched as Sakuragi went to his seat and slumped into it.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
Hatsuko felt the wind whipping her hair and she shut her eyes. It was wonderful. It felt as though she was one with the wind and that she could almost fly. She opened her eyes once again and looked down from the rooftop.   
She was on the rooftop of Shohoku High. She was feeling tense. There was something wrong with her brother ever since he got home a few nights ago. She knew that he probably got into another one of his fights but he was usually satisfied and quite happy after them. However, he was depressed instead. He refused to eat dinner and he was silent, a trait that her brother never possessed.   
  
"Nii-chan, what's wrong with you?" she whispered, her eyes stinging. She tried all she could this morning to cheer him up but he ignored her most of the time although he did accompany her to school as usual.   
"Oi, you okay?"   
  
Hatsuko turned and found Rukawa behind her. She took a deep breath and after ensuring that her tears won't spill, she smiled.   
  
"Uh-huh," she said. "What are you doing up here, Rukawa-san?"   
"I always come up here," Rukawa answered.   
Before Hatsuko could ask the reason, he continued. "To sleep."   
Hatsuko giggled and said, "Sou ka?"   
"Omae?"   
"Er… betsu ni. I just wanted to relax. The wind up here's great," she said in a rush.   
  
Rukawa nodded and looked at the girl in front of him. He knew that something was troubling her but he dare not ask. It was only a few days ago that she commented on his talking more than usual. Rukawa watched as Hatsuko struggled to neaten her hair which was getting messier and messier from the wind. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. He then began to search his pockets.   
  
"Rukawa-san, what are you doing?" Hatsuko asked Rukawa as he continued to search his pockets.   
Finally, he pulled his right hand out of his right trouser pocket and extended it to her.   
  
"Here," he said.   
"Huh?" she said, stretching out her right hand, palm up.   
  
Rukawa dropped the item into her hand and turned to walk off.   
  
"A scrunchie? Rukawa-san! Chotto matte kudasai!" Hatsuko hurried up to catch up to his huge strides. "Doushite?"   
"You look better with a scrunchie than that hideous red cap," Rukawa muttered, and continued to walk away.   
"Oh! Er… arigatou! I'll get you something too!" she shouted at him, but he shook his head.   
"Rukawa-san sure is weird… but in a sweet sort of way," she whispered with a smile playing on her lips.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
_'D'aho, why did you get her the scrunchie? What are you trying to tell her?'_   
_'Nothing. She needed it and I got it for her. No big deal.'_   
  
Somehow, Rukawa knew that that was not the answer. He didn't know how to explain it but she was different from the rest of the girls he knew. Most of the girls in school idolize him. The rest are rather fearful of him. Not that he minds of course. The fewer the better.   
Rukawa scratched his head and sighed. He felt really at ease around her. Eventhough Ayako-san was his senior back at Tomigaoka Junior High and still his senior at Shohoku, he didn't feel as comfortable around her as he did around Hatsuko.   
Walking along the hallways, Rukawa ignored the girls gawking at him.   
  
_'Stop staring,'_ he thought angrily. _'Don't you have anything better to do?'_   
  
Although he was feeling frustrated inside, he did not let his feelings show. His exterior was as cold as usual. Actually, it was colder. The crowd of students made way as he passed; pausing their conversation to admire him or to just make way.   
Underneath his bangs, Rukawa glared straight ahead and continued to walk.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Nee, Riko, did you see Rukawa just now? Isn't he just so kakkoii?" a girl with short brown hair asked her friend.   
"Rukawa Kaede soretomo Rukawa Kazuo?" her friend asked.   
  
Kazuo who was at his locker, listened to their conversation.   
  
"Yahari Rukawa Kaede! Mysterious guys are always cooler! Compare them and you can see that Rukawa Kaede is also better-looking."   
  
Kazuo's eyes narrowed as he continued to listen.   
  
"Sou sou."   
"Too bad he's not into girls…"   
"I think he likes someone though… that red-head's sister…"   
"Hatsuko? She's in my class! She's the innocent sort though… I doubt she even realizes that Rukawa has his eyes on her…"   
  
"Hatsuko-san?" Kazuo whispered. "Yappari."   
  
"Really?"   
"Yeah. I'm in Rukawa's fan club and he doesn't even notice me!"   
"I know…"   
  
Kazuo sighed and shut his locker softly so that the girls wouldn't know that he was eavesdropping.   
  
"Shimatta," he cursed.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Hanamichi!" Ryota called out as he entered the gym.   
"He's not here, Ryota."   
"Aya-chan!" Ryota blushed as the love of his life walked over to him. After composing himself, he continued by asking, "Where'd he go?"   
"I don't know but this is already the seventh practice that he's missed. He's never like this…" Ayako said, a frown creasing her forehead.   
  
Ryota turned and walked out of the gym.   
  
"Ryota! Where are you going?" Ayako shouted.   
"I'm going to look for him. He should be around this area. Tell Yasu to take care of everything," he shouted back as he increased his pace to a jog.   
"Uh," she said as she watched him go.   
  
Ayako then saw Hatsuko and Haruko walk in from the other entrance.   
  
"Hatsuko-chan! Where's your brother?"   
"Nii-chan? Eh? He's not here?" Hatsuko looked surprised.   
"Sakuragi-kun?" Haruko echoed.   
"But Nii-chan told me to come here…" Hatsuko's voice trailed off.   
"Where can he be? If he's fighting again, Anzai-sensei will be furious," Ayako said worriedly.   
"Ah… daijoubu, Ayako-san. Sakuragi-kun promised that he wouldn't fight, ne?" Haruko said.   
  
When Ayako didn't reply, Haruko began to look worried.   
  
_'Sou na…'_ Hatsuko thought as she bit her lip. "Daijoubu! I bet Nii-chan is just playing around with Yo-chan and the rest."   
"Well, he shouldn't," Ayako said angrily, crossing her arms.   
"Maa maa. Sakuragi-kun has been working so hard," Haruko defended.   
"Still! Do you know that Ryota went to look for him?"   
"EH?"   
  
Hatsuko's eyes widened but she kept silent. She has to protect her brother, no matter what.   
All the basketball players who were already present listened on to Ayako and Haruko, except for the Rukawa brothers who were watching Hatsuko. When Hatsuko turned to leave, Rukawa walked to her.   
  
"I thought your brother told you to stay here," he said with a straight face. Inside, his heart was pounding so hard. It was as though he had just played a one-on-one against Sendoh.   
  
Hatsuko looked up at him and smiled. Rukawa noticed that her eyes weren't smiling, unlike the usual smiles that she gave him.   
  
"I'm just going to stay around school. I'll come back when training's going to end," she said.   
"Ah…" a tinge of pink appeared on Rukawa's pale cheeks. 'Damn, what was I so worried about?'   
"Rukawa-san, if Nii-chan is still not here by then, will you walk me home? I promised him that I wouldn't go back by myself and…" she said, almost inaudibly.   
  
Surprised, Rukawa nodded. With a tiny smile, Hatsuko walked off.   
Rukawa turned and saw everyone looking at him.   
  
"What?" he asked, with a stony expression.   
  
Everyone immediately turned away and pretended to do something else. All except for Kazuo, who glared back at him with an equally stony expression.   
  
_'Rukawa-kun,'_ Haruko's heart called out to him. She couldn't believe what she saw, yet, it did happen. She felt a sharp pain in her heart and her eyes began to sting.   
Suddenly, Ryota rushed in.   
  
"I found Mito and the rest of the gundan. Hanamichi wasn't with them. He wasn't with them during the other times either!"   
  
  
**Author's note:** Ah! Sumimasen!! *bows* I know that I took exceptionally long with this chapter! ^^6 Anyways, you can tell that something's up, ne? ^^ 


	7. Danger

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 7:** Danger...   
  
Hatsuko shuffled along next to Rukawa as he sent her home. The Sakuragi residence was quite a long way from school and it was already dark out. Uncomfortable at the silence, she fiddled with the ribbon on her uniform.   
  
"What are you doing?" Rukawa asked, looking down at her only by the corner of his eyes.   
"N-Nothing," she said quickly. "Nii-chan, where are you?" she whispered.   
  
Rukawa heard her but he pretended that he didn't.   
  
_'Why does she worry about such a d'aho anyways?'_ he thought as he readjusted the strap of his duffel bag. _'Why is he making her worry?'_   
  
Clenching his fists, he looked down at Hatsuko. She wasn't as cheerful as she used to be. From the soft streetlights, he could make out a slight darkness under her vaguely bloodshot brown eyes. Her eyes were not sparkly either. In fact, they looked dull. It was amazing how much she had changed in just a few days; ever since Sakuragi failed to attend practice a week ago.   
  
"Rukawa-san! Look out!"   
"Huh?" he asked, snapping out of his thoughts. Just then, he walked into a streetlight and fell heavily to the ground.   
"Rukawa-san!" Hatsuko shrieked, and stooped next to him. "Daijoubu ka?"   
  
Rukawa looked at her and gulped as she gazed into his own blue eyes with concern. He quickly stood up and unintentionally bumped into Hatsuko, causing her to fall instead.   
  
_'Kuso…'_ he growled to himself.   
  
Offering Hatsuko a hand, he pulled her to her feet. Surprisingly, she was laughing and holding her sides.   
  
"Rukawa-san, I've never…" she started, still laughing hysterically. She suddenly stopped as her gaze fell somewhere behind Rukawa and she stiffened.   
  
Rukawa, sensing that something was wrong, turned to face a gang of hooligans. They were older than the ones who attacked the basketball club with Mitsui a year ago.   
  
"Kisama Sakuragi Hatsuko ka?" one of the thugs stepped forward and asked, pointing at Hatsuko with his cigarette. Obviously the leader, he was slightly taller than Rukawa, with long, wavy, greasy hair; eyes so tiny that it was impossible to tell its color, very thin lips and a very dark tan.   
  
"Watashi… watashi wa…" Hatsuko started stammering, fear evident in her eyes.   
"No, she isn't Sakuragi Hatsuko. She's my sister, Rukawa… Rukawa Kiara," Rukawa said quickly.   
  
Rukawa threw a glance in Hatsuko's direction and found her nodding.   
  
"Why should I answer you anyways?" Hatsuko found herself asking angrily. "Who are you to ask me?"   
  
Rukawa was impressed and watched as Hatsuko displayed her acting capabilities.   
  
"Ceh! Don't fool around with me you!" the leader spat, throwing his cigarette at Hatsuko.   
  
With a squeal, she managed to dodge it.   
  
"Who is?" Rukawa asked coolly, his ice blue eyes meeting the leader's glare, as he pulled Hatsuko behind him.   
"Do you idiots know who we are?" one of the other thugs asked.   
"Morons?"   
  
Shouts of disagreement rang out from the rest of the thugs.   
  
"What? I was only answering his question…" Rukawa said innocently, pointing at the thug who asked him.   
"Yarou!" the leader vexingly shouted at the shorter thug and smacked his head.   
  
Suddenly, out from the shadows, another thug came up to the leader and whispered something into his ear. Then, he skulked back into the shadows making it impossible to judge his appearance as not only was he hidden by the shadows, he was covered up almost like a bank robber, complete with a ski mask.   
  
With a grin on his face, showing his uneven yellow-stained teeth, the leader walked towards Rukawa and stood opposite him, staring slightly down at him.   
  
"My sources tell me that the girl isn't your sister, basketball man," the leader proclaimed, as his gaze shifted to the basketball under Rukawa's left arm.   
"What sources? I only see one and it's that idiot hiding there," Rukawa said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the thug hiding in the shadows.   
  
The leader didn't reply but peered over Rukawa's shoulder to catch a glimpse of Hatsuko instead.   
  
"She is that temera's sister… that Sakuragi Hanamichi… am I right?" he continued.   
"Nii-chan temera ja nai!!" Hatsuko shouted angrily, her fists clenched and her eyes ablaze.   
  
When realization hit her that she foiled Rukawa's plan, her eyes widened and she bit her lip.   
  
"Ah… so the little girl finally owns up," the thug jeered.   
"Gomen nasai, Rukawa-san," she whispered, her eyes beginning to tear.   
Rukawa just shook his head and whispered, "Now they just have to get it from me."   
  
Rukawa dropped all of his possessions and spread his arms apart as he stood in front of Hatsuko, shielding her.   
  
"What do you want with her?" Rukawa asked menacingly.   
"Why should you bother? You're not even related!"   
"Can't I bother?"   
  
Hatsuko trembled slightly behind Rukawa. It may be due to the chilly breeze, or that she was afraid, or that she was furious that her brother was insulted… or it may be that Rukawa was defending her.   
  
"What are you? Her boyfriend?"   
Rukawa glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, paused for a moment and said, "What's it to you?"   
  
With that, Rukawa threw the leader a punch that sent him reeling back a few paces into one of his thugs with a bloody and disfigured nose.   
  
"TEMERA!!" the leader shouted, clasping a hand over his nose. Blood was seen dripping to the floor. "Boys! Get him! And the girl! That Sakuragi will pay!"   
  
The circle of thugs tightened around them as they closed in to attack. Rukawa mentally counted the number of thugs.   
  
_'Twelve. Can I defeat twelve of them and protect Hatsuko at the same time?'_ he thought as his worry increased.   
_'The leader seems to be letting his men to the job and the so-called spy seems to want to stay away… great. What if they attack when I least expect it? What if…'_   
  
A whirlwind of thoughts swept through Rukawa's head but he snapped out of them when Hatsuko called him.   
  
"Rukawa-san! What are we going to do?"   
"Try your best and I'll handle the rest," he said, as his eyes sharpened and he launched himself at the ones closest to him.   
  
With a kick to one of the thug's groin and an uppercut to the other, they began to groan and double over.   
Hatsuko, on the other hand, swung her duffel bag into one of the other thug's face and kicked another in his gut.   
  
"Oi!"   
  
Everyone stopped mid-fight and saw someone walking towards them from the shadows. Rukawa, already with a puffy bruised eye could make out a tall person with long spiky hair.   
  
_'Could it be?'_ he wondered, with his hand holding a fistful of one of the thug's shirt.   
  
The person's visage could finally be made out when he entered the small lighted fighting area. It was Sendoh.   
  
"Yo," he said, with his usual smile. He had a basketball and duffel bag with him.   
"Sendoh-san!" Hatsuko shouted.   
  
Rukawa merely rolled his eyes.   
  
"Whaddya want, yer porcupine head?" the leader shouted.   
  
Sendoh looked at him. With a smile, he punched his face. This time, the leader did not get up.   
  
"I happen to like my hair," he said, shaking his head. With a look at Rukawa and Hatsuko, Sendoh asked, "Mind if I help?"   
"If you want," Rukawa muttered.   
"Leader!" the thugs shouted. "We can't stop now! We must get revenge!" one of them yelled.   
  
The thug who was hiding in the shadows slowly slipped away, unnoticed.   
  
"Ow! Itai!" Hatsuko screamed when her hair was pulled, causing her scrunchie to drop. With that, she bit down hard on the thug's arm.   
  
The thug immediately released her with a yell and Hatsuko kicked his face with a jump kick.   
Sendoh was impressed that a girl of that height was able to kick someone's face when the person was more than two heads taller.   
Within a few minutes, the fight ended and the thugs retreated with a warning.   
  
"We won't let you off that easily! Watch out, all of you!"   
  
After the hooligans left, the three slumped to the ground with their backs against each other, exhausted.   
  
"Well, that was interesting. What was that about anyways?" Sendoh asked.   
  
He was not as badly injured as Rukawa, who sustained cuts on his arm other when a thug pulled out a pocket knife, other than his swollen left eye. Sendoh, however, only had a bruise on his cheek when he misjudged a punch. Hatsuko, whose hair was badly tousled, had a cut on her lip and some bruised ribs, was the most injured; considering she was never involved in a fight before.   
  
"What did Nii-chan do?" Hatsuko whispered as tears began to run down her cheeks. She pulled her legs close to her and wept.   
  
"Sakuragi ka?" Sendoh asked Rukawa while getting up.   
Rukawa too got up, wincing, and gave a slight nod. "Those d'ahos said that they wanted to take revenge."   
"Nii-chan…"   
  
Rukawa frowned when he heard Hatsuko whimper. He then knelt next to her.   
  
"Let me send you back to your place now. It's dangerous for us to stay here any longer," Rukawa said quietly.   
  
Wiping the tears from her face, Hatsuko nodded and accepted Rukawa's outstretched hand. As he pulled her up, her bruised ribs seem to tighten and Hatsuko screamed; letting go of Rukawa's hand and collapsing onto the hard paved ground.   
  
"Oi!""Hatsuko-chan!" both Rukawa and Sendoh shouted respectively, and rushed to her side.   
"I… can't move… or breath properly…" Hatsuko told them, her breath a little ragged.   
"It's okay. I'll carry you home," Rukawa told her, without even giving a second thought.   
"Are you crazy? You can't carry her home in your state!" Sendoh remarked.   
"Do you have a better idea?" Rukawa asked, his eyes regaining its cold exterior.   
"I'll carry her. It's not like I'm badly hurt," Sendoh suggested, with a smile so huge that Rukawa felt like punching his face in.   
"Fine," Rukawa said, but not before glaring at Sendoh.   
  
Sendoh knew how Rukawa felt and was rather amused. Returning the glare with a grin, he slowly pulled Hatsuko up onto his back and followed Rukawa.   
Rukawa was fuming as he lugged his possessions and also, Hatsuko's and Sendoh's. When Rukawa saw the scrunchie that he bought for Hatsuko on the ground, he picked it up and slipped it into Hatsuko's bag.   
  
_'D'aho. Who does he think he is anyways?'_ he thought as he trudged towards the Sakuragi residence, thinking up of more profanity for Sendoh.   
  
Hatsuko, who was piggybacked all the way home, fell asleep against Sendoh's warm back. Sendoh and Rukawa could hear her mumble 'Nii-chan' in her sleep.   
  
"I'm going to kill that d'aho" Rukawa said loudly, breaking the silence and surprising Sendoh.   
"He might have a good explanation, you know," Sendoh said cheerfully.   
"He doesn't deserve one."   
"Why do you hate him so much anyway?"   
"He's a d'aho. Who wouldn't?"   
"I don't."   
"You're a d'aho too."   
  
Rukawa stopped outside the Sakuragi residence and his lips tightened to a line when he heard a commotion inside. Sendoh's smile faded from his face as he strained his ears to listen. Both were too distracted to notice that Hatsuko was awake.   
  
"Nii-chan! Kaa-chan!" Hatsuko shouted, pushing herself off Sendoh's back.   
  
Holding tightly to her sides, she rushed into her house with Rukawa and Sendoh at her heels. Hatsuko ran to the back door and pushed it open as fast as she could. Her eyes widened when she saw her mother, in tears, and her brother, with a side of his face caked in blood.   
  
"Kaa-chan… Nii-chan…" Hatsuko whispered.   
  
Sakuragi and their mother wheeled around to face Hatsuko with shock and guilt etched on their faces.   
  
"Wha… What's going on?" Hatsuko asked, afraid of the answer.   
  
  
**Author's note:** Gah! Long chapter! T__T I had to force myself to do it though. The fight scene is awfully short, boring and totally lame. I didn't know how to show them fighting… so it turned out pretty stupid ^^6 


	8. The Truth?

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 8:** The Truth?   
  
Sakuragi looked at his sister standing by the door with two tall silhouettes behind her. His heart ached to see Hatsuko barely standing, with bruises all over her. He could see a trail of blood from her lips to her chin.   
  
"Hat… Hatsuko…" he whispered. "What happened to you?"   
  
Hatsuko stumbled towards him and she tripped, falling forward. Though very injured, Sakuragi's quick reflexes enabled him to swiftly move forward and catch his sister in his arms. The two figures behind her also moved towards her but not quickly enough. Sakuragi was finally able to tell who the two were when they entered the kitchen through the back door. They were Rukawa and Sendoh.   
  
"RUKAWA! SENDOH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"   
  
Both kept silent as they watched Sakuragi hold his sister protectively in his arms. All of them had grim expressions on their faces.   
Rukawa watched Sakuragi's mother as she looked at the scene before her in horror. She then picked something up from the floor and proceeded to wash it under the sick. Then, she used a wet dishrag and wiped something on the floor. Rukawa was unable to clearly see what she was doing because the little table in the center of the kitchen blocked his view.   
Sakuragi could feel his temper rising, and he began to perspire heavily. He also noticed that Rukawa was looking distractedly at his mother.   
  
_'Kuso. What if he finds out? What if all of them find out?'_ he thought, a sense of worry creeping into his mind.   
  
"Nii-chan," Hatsuko said, looking up at her brother as they sat on the kitchen floor. She bit her lip at the sight of the blood on her brother face and the stench of it. "Tell me what's going on."   
"I… I…" Sakuragi stammered, as he looked at his sister, then his mother. "I can't."   
  
Hatsuko pushed herself away from her brother, and with the little strength that she had, she slowly stood up, meeting her brother's eyes with a look of disappointment, anger and sadness. When her legs gave way, Sendoh caught her from behind and steadied her.   
Sakuragi's heart ached to see his sister treat him with such hostility but he had no choice. His eyes began to sting, and his throat began to tighten. Not wanting Rukawa or Sendoh to see how vulnerable or pathetic he was, he stared at his large hands, clenching and unclenching his fists.   
  
With a sigh, Mrs. Sakuragi said, "Your sister deserves to know the truth, Hanamichi… about the gangsters."   
  
Mrs. Sakuragi shot him a look and Sakuragi when he looked up at her, and he gulped. No one saw this. No one but Sakuragi and Rukawa. Hatsuko was still looking at her brother and Sendoh was looking at Hatsuko.   
  
"Okay," he said with finality, but a little doubt was evident in his voice. With that, Mrs. Sakuragi left the kitchen, with a hand to her head, as though she had a headache.   
  
Sakuragi turned to his sister, and after taking a deep breath, he stood up.   
  
"You have to tell me what happened to the three of you first."   
"Fine," she said. She turned to Rukawa and Sendoh. "Let's all sit."   
"What?! Them too?!" Sakuragi shouted.   
"Is there a problem, Nii-chan?" Hatsuko asked, her eyes darkening as she looked at him.   
  
Pursing his lips, and with a frown on his face, Sakuragi pulled a chair out and slumped in it.   
Hatsuko, Rukawa and Sendoh followed suite and the four just looked at each other.   
  
"Come, come. Why look like that?" Sendoh asked, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.   
  
When no one replied, he cleared his throat and shifted uneasily in his seat.   
  
"I shall start, but Nii-chan, you better tell me everything later," Hatsuko started. When she received a nod from her brother, she continued.   
"You told me to wait for you to send me home after your practice but you never came. So, I asked Rukawa-san to send me home since I promised you that I will never go anywhere on my own."   
"On our way home, we met up with a group of thugs and they wanted to know if I was your sister."   
  
When Hatsuko said this, Sakuragi lifted his head to look at his sister with horror.   
  
"They also started to call you names too. Then, we fought. Rukawa-san and I. However, Sendoh-san, who was passing by, came and helped us in the midst of our fight and we were able to defeat them. So, here we are," Hatsuko finished, her voice dull.   
  
"Where were you anyways? How could you promise your sister like that and not keep it?" Rukawa asked, his blue eyes ablaze.   
"I had to take care of those morons! That's why! It's none of your business anyways, Kitsune!"   
"Nii-chan, since Rukawa-san and Sendoh-san were involved in this fight, it has become their business," Hatsuko interjected, protecting Rukawa.   
  
A heavy silence hung after that, with the two Sakuragi siblings glaring at each other, neither wanting to give up.   
  
"So, you were fighting them, that's why you were unable to fetch Hatsuko?" Sendoh asked.   
"Yeah," Sakuragi mumbled, breaking the glare to look at the embroidered tablecloth which covered the tabletop.   
  
Forcing a smile on her face, Hatsuko reached across the table and placed a hand over her brother's.   
  
"Nii-chan. I don't want to argue with you. Tell me what's wrong. I can try to help."   
"We can try to help," Sendoh corrected her, a genuinely wide smile on his face. Rukawa nodded in agreement.   
  
After a few hesitant openings, Sakuragi finally said, "We're in debt. Ever since dad passed away, I've been getting loans from the loansharks…"   
"Your family in debt?" Rukawa and Sendoh asked in unison.   
"We're in debt?" Hatsuko echoed.   
  
Sakuragi nodded. "Kaa-chan, no matter how hard she worked, could never pay off all the debts on her own so I had to help."   
"So you've been working?" Sendoh questioned.   
"Sort of…"   
"Is that why you missed practices?" Rukawa asked.   
"Um… yeah. I had to find a job."   
"Nii-chan, why didn't you tell me?" Hatsuko asked, obviously hurt to be left out on this important matter. "I could've found a job and lighten the burden that you and Kaa-chan were carrying…"   
"I didn't know about it either… not until Yohei told me that some gangsters were looking for me after they had a scuffle with my Gundan," Sakuragi admitted.   
"So you've been trying to find a job after school and also trying to fight them off?" Hatsuko continued to question.   
"Basically, that's it. But they mentioned that our family will never get any peace until we've settled our debt… and since we started owing them for the past two years, the interest is been pretty high."   
"Why leave Hatsuko in school and at practice when you knew that you couldn't protect her?" Rukawa asked, since the question has been bothering him.   
"Hmph. Though I can't believe it myself, I knew that I could trust you to take care of her," Sakuragi answered, a wry smile on his lips as his amber eyes met Rukawa's blue ones.   
  
Rukawa's eyes widened in disbelief and his heart thumped heavily in his chest. _'Did he just say that he trusted me to take care of Hatsuko? Sakuragi? That d'aho?'_   
  
Sendoh was amused but he knew that this was a serious situation.   
  
"How much is the debt?" Sendoh asked.   
"It's too much and telling you would be useless anyways," Sakuragi answered.   
"That's true…" Hatsuko agreed softly.   
"But we can help…" Rukawa supported Sendoh, his eyes no longer cold as he looked at Sakuragi.   
"Plus, no interest charged," Sendoh said with a smile.   
"Hmph. How exactly are you two supposed to help us?" Sakuragi retorted, rolling his eyes.   
"I'm not bragging or anything but we are rich, you know," Sendoh responded, scratching a side of his head, careful not to mess up his hair.   
"Hmph. If you think you can help, it's US$100 000. Convert that to yen."   
"What?!" Hatsuko yelled. "That much?!"   
"That's why I doubt that they can help. Anyways, it'd take forever for us to come up with that kind of money to repay them," Sakuragi said, resting an elbow on the table.   
  
Sendoh and Rukawa were silent.   
  
"Heh. It's okay if the both of you can't help, Rukawa-san. Sendoh-san," Hatsuko started.   
"I can get my parents to pay a quarter of that… and I have the other quarter in my bank," Rukawa said. "So, that's half."   
"I can get my parents to pay the other half. They wouldn't mind if I told them that I'm helping out a friend," Sendoh replied.   
  
Hatsuko and Sakuragi sat, stunned. Hatsuko knew that both Rukawa and Sendoh were nice but she didn't know that they were so helpful and concerned towards this whole situation. Sakuragi, however, thought otherwise. He thought of both of them as rivals and always thought of Rukawa as an arrogant and selfish moron whereas Sendoh was a formidable opponent with loose screws in his brain.   
  
"You're honestly going to help us?" Sakuragi asked, his voice unable to contain its happiness.   
"There's a catch for my part though," Rukawa said, his eyes turning to Sakuragi.   
"I expected that much from you, Kitsune. Well, what is it?" Sakuragi sighed.   
"That you don't work and come for every practice," Rukawa mumbled quickly. "It's not that I like you or anything… I'm only doing this for Shohoku's Basketball Club."   
  
Sakuragi was speechless. _'Rukawa wants me to keep playing basketball? Could it be that he senses that I never wanted to quit?'_ he thought. Then, he started laughing with joy.   
  
"NYAHAHA! Then Tensai won't put so much pressure on the both of you during matches! NYAHAHAHAHA!"   
  
Amused by the great change in Sakuragi's character, Sendoh smiled.   
  
Rukawa, however, rolled his eyes and sighed. "D'aho."   
  
Sakuragi was too cheerful to be affected by Rukawa so he continued to laugh. Hatsuko eyed the three. She was thankful; that her brother was back to normal, and that Rukawa and Sendoh were helping her family.   
  
"Rukawa-san, Sendoh-san," Hatsuko started, getting up from her seat.   
  
Sendoh and Rukawa looked at her and were surprised to see her bow at them. They were even more surprised when she looked up with tears shining in her eyes and a large grin on her face.   
  
"Arigatou! Hontou ni arigatou!" she said, and went to each of them and gave them a peck on their cheek each.   
  
Rukawa turned a little pink and mumbled something under his breath whereas Sendoh grinned and said, "No prob."   
  
"Hatsuko! What are doing?" Sakuragi asked with disapproval.   
"Just showing them my appreciation, Nii-chan," Hatsuko answered, wiping the tears from her face.   
"Thank them! Don't kiss them!"   
  
Suddenly, Mrs. Sakuragi bustled into the kitchen with a first aid kit, causing Sakuragi to stiffen.   
  
"Come, let's get all of you treated," she said, her eyes reflecting her concern. "Rukawa-kun soushite Sendoh-kun, thank you for bringing Hatsuko back when Hanamichi was unable to… I trust that the both of you can take care of Hatsuko when Hanamichi's not around?"   
  
Rukawa and Sendoh nodded.   
  
After helping to apply some ointment on Rukawa, Sendoh and Hatsuko, and bandaging the necessary injuries, she went over to Sakuragi and wiped the blood off his face with a damp towel.   
  
"Hanamichi, you should be really careful when you get into a fight. It's not that I like it when you fight but I know that you have to sometimes…" Mrs. Sakuragi said, her voice trailing.   
  
Sakuragi did not even bother to look at his mother as she treated his wounds nor did he bother to reply. Instead, he just looked at his hands and he began to clench and unclenched again.   
  
Rukawa got up and went to the door. "Thanks, Mrs. Sakuragi."   
  
Sendoh followed suite and smiled at the Sakuragi family as they left. Hatsuko and Mrs. Sakuragi smiled as they left but Sakuragi remained quiet.   
  
Outside of the Sakuragi residence, Rukawa leaned against a streetlamp and waited for Sendoh to emerge from the house. Once he did, he walked off and Sendoh followed after him.   
  
"Something about that place is not right," Rukawa suddenly said.   
"You're right," Sendoh responded. "When I smiled at them, only Hatsuko gave me a genuine smile. Usually Sakuragi would give me an amusing remark but he didn't. And their mother… she smiled at me but it was somewhat forced…"   
"I guess I would expect you to be able to tell if someone's really smiling or not…" Rukawa said, sarcastically. _'When I said place, I really mean place. That place wasn't like a home at all. And Sendoh's right. They're acting strange too…'_   
  
  
**Author's note:** Aah… ^^ I'm so tired. Well, I wrote some hints in this chapter and let's see if you can figure out what's behind them X3 ~hee. I think that every chapter I'm writing is going from bad to worse… Oh well ^^6 


	9. Friends

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Chapter 9:** Friends   
  
As the sun slowly rose, it cast a soft orange glow across the morning sky. The pink-tipped grey clouds which stretched across the early morning sky of the Kanagawa Prefecture were one of the most beautiful sights in Kanagawa itself.   
  
"Wow, and I thought that I could see the best view of the sunrise from the rooftop of Ryonan!"   
  
Sendoh turned to his right and found that his companion was asleep. With a hurt expression and a pout on his lips, he began to shake his companion's back.   
  
"Rukawa, Rukawa. How can you fall asleep when I'm talking to you?" he murmured.   
  
He barely dodged a blow that Rukawa sent which caused him to fall on his behind with a loud thud.   
  
"Hey! Why did you do that?!"   
  
Sendoh inspected Rukawa's face closely when Rukawa didn't respond.   
  
_'He's asleep?'_   
"Rukawa. Rukawa," Sendoh said, gently slapping his cheek. "GAH! I didn't notice that he was drooling!"   
  
He quickly rubbed his wet, drool-stained hand on Rukawa's back.   
  
"Oi, what are you doing, d'aho?"   
  
Rukawa turned to look at the surprised Sendoh who still had his hand grasping a piece of Rukawa's uniform.   
  
"Ah… nothing! Nothing!" Sendoh said, putting a hand to the back of his neatly gelled up and spiky hair, and he began to scratch his head. _'AH! That's the hand that was covered with his drool!'_   
  
"What's taking him so long?" Rukawa muttered, focusing his gaze intently on the rising sun.   
"Is it his reputation to be late?"   
  
Rukawa merely nodded. Suddenly the door to the rooftop slammed open and there was Sakuragi, heaving and perspiring. His uniform was unbuttoned, revealing the white T-shirt he wore inside which showed a patch of dampness.   
  
"GAH! I'm late!"   
"Sakuragi," Sendoh smiled. "What took you so long?"   
  
Sakuragi strode over to them with huge strides and sat down, leaning against a wall.   
  
"Not what. Who," he said.   
"Hatsuko-chan?"   
"Ah…" Sakuragi nodded. "She took so long to get ready…" he grumbled.   
"Who asked you to make that promise of always being with her?"   
  
Sakuragi looked up at Rukawa with a retort prepared and opened his mouth to say it but at the sight of Rukawa's expression, he suddenly clamped his mouth shut and resulted in having his tongue bitten.   
  
"YEOW!" he shouted.   
"Sakuragi, doushita?" Sendoh looked over at him with a concerned look.   
"Ar bfit mfy tfong…" he said as tears began to well up in his eyes.   
  
Sakuragi stuck out his tongue and began to fan it to try to decrease the pain, but of course, without any success. Sendoh also tried to help fan Sakuragi's tongue as well – waving a hand in front of it quickly with hope that the little breeze that they manage to conjure up will ease the pain.   
Sakuragi looked up at Rukawa yet again. He didn't believe that he prevented himself from retorting and hurt himself in the process but when he looked up at Rukawa then, and saw him looking into the distance with such a peaceful expression; he felt a strange aura around him.   
  
_'Hah! A strange aura?'_ Sakuragi thought. _'But really, he is different… he is no longer the Rukawa that I thought I knew and despised…'_   
"What are you looking at?" Rukawa asked Sakuragi, breaking his thoughts.   
"N-nothing!" Sakuragi practically shouted into Sendoh's ears as Sendoh was still leaning over him. Sendoh quickly clamped his hands over his ears and Rukawa followed suite before Sakuragi could shout anymore. Sakuragi turned beet red from embarrassment for being caught by Rukawa for staring at him. _'What am I doing?'_   
  
Rukawa rolled his eyes and continued to admire the beauty of the rising sun. He felt that the breathtaking sight of the sun right now really fits with Japan, having the title of being 'The Land of the Rising Sun'. As he did, he listened to Sendoh speak to Sakuragi.   
  
"Where's Hatsuko anyways?"   
"Ah… she said that she was meeting Kazuo to help him clean up the class. They have classroom duty this morning…" Sakuragi said, slowly, as his tongue still stung.   
"Kazuo, you mean Rukawa's brother?" Sendoh wondered.   
"Should be… since I don't know of any other Kazuo than his brother…" Sakuragi answered, pointing a finger at Rukawa.   
  
Sendoh looked at Rukawa who merely shrugged.   
  
"I wouldn't know because I left without him," Rukawa answered in his usual monotonous voice.   
"Well, as long as Hatsuko is safe in school, I don't really care who she hangs out with," Sakuragi muttered.   
"Eh? What did you say?" Sendoh asked Sakuragi. He was distracted by Rukawa who was signaling to him about something.   
"It's nothing important," Sakuragi replied.   
  
He raised an eyebrow when he looked up and noticed Rukawa signaling at Sendoh. Both of them did not notice his staring at them with an amused yet peculiar expression. Suddenly, both Rukawa and Sendoh froze and slowly turned to look at Sakuragi after a moment of so-called sign language. Sakuragi was wearing a grin and he looked ready to burst out laughing. And he did.   
  
"NYAHAHAHAHA!"   
"It's been a while since I heard that…" Sendoh said, sweatdropping.   
  
Rukawa rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned his focus to Sakuragi who had stopped laughing and stood to his full height.   
  
"Why was I being called here for anyways?" he suddenly asked. "It was very unusual because Rukawa…" he pointed at Rukawa, "spoke very seriously to me."   
  
Rukawa's sapphire eyes widened but he continued to listen to the red-head's little speech.   
  
"Then I was told that Hatsuko cannot be told of our meeting and that got me suspicious," Sakuragi continued. "If you think of it closely, you might think that Rukawa was a bisexual."   
"I'm a what?!" Rukawa said, his vein throbbing at his forehead.   
"Rukawa, he's kidding," Sendoh said, spreading his arms out as he stood in front of Sakuragi to prevent the advancing Rukawa from interrupting and killing the poor so-called Tensai.   
"Also, Sendoh is here on a school day and school's about to begin, and both of you are acting weird. So what is it?" he asked, shifting his coffee-colored eyes which were flecked with gold, back and forth from Rukawa to Sendoh.   
  
Sendoh and Rukawa, in unison, dug into their pockets and pulled out two little slips of paper, folded neatly in half. They then extended their arms out to Sakuragi with their slips of paper in their grasp at the same time.   
  
"What are you guys?! Some soldiers practicing for some parade?!" Sakuragi shouted, as he started to freak out.   
  
When no response came from either one of them, Sakuragi looked down at the slips and took them out of Rukawa and Sendoh's grasps. He unfolded the first and his eyes widened in surprise. He quickly unfolded the other and this time, his jaw dropped. The two slips of paper were checks. He immediately looked up at Rukawa and Sendoh.   
  
"You guys kept your words…" he murmured, touched.   
"Of course! We're men of our words, right, Rukawa?" Sendoh said cheerfully, smacking Rukawa on his back, causing him to lunge forward.   
  
Rukawa rolled his eyes and walked off towards the door. Then, the bell for class rang. He then stopped in front of the door and turned to look at Sakuragi.   
  
"After all, you and Hatsuko are our friends," he said quietly, and opened the door.   
  
As the door was about to close, Rukawa heard something he'd never expect to hear. He smiled to himself and walked down the stairs.   
  
"Sakuragi, I didn't expect you to say that," Sendoh said to Sakuragi, surprised.   
"Well, he did help me out and I owe him for taking care of my sister. Thanks to you too, Sendoh," Sakuragi said, extending his right hand.   
  
Sendoh took it with a smile and shook it.   
  
"There's something that I have to tell you," Sakuragi said, his eyes turning serious, causing Sendoh to turn uncomfortable.   
"What is it?"   
  
Sakuragi then flashed him a grin.   
  
"I am already fifteen minutes late for class. Imagine how late you'll be… Ryonan IS very far away from Shohoku…"   
"Shimatta!" Sendoh shouted, running towards the exit. Before he opened the door, he turned and flashed Sakuragi a warm smile.   
"You take care of yourself and Hatsuko. If you need help, you know where to find me."   
  
Surprised at the sudden encouragement, he nodded and Sendoh left. Sakuragi didn't leave the rooftop until lunchtime. He gazed at the sky and when the lunch bell rang, he finally turned to leave. As he opened the door, he came face-to-face with Rukawa who always frequent the rooftop.   
  
"The sky is beautiful, isn't it?" he said and continued before Rukawa could reply. "You love the sunrise, right? I do too. The sunrise and the sunset are the times when the sky is the most beautiful," Sakuragi told him, with a smile and left Rukawa standing by the door, baffled.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
Hatsuko was sweeping the last of all the dirt on her classroom floor when the school bell, indicating the start of lessons for the day, rang.   
  
"Mou! Where is Rukawa-kun? He made me clean up all by myself!" Hatsuko pouted and went to keep the broom in the closet when a group of students flooded into the classroom and Hatsuko shrieked.   
  
"Hey! I've arranged the tables! Don't misalign them!! And where did that dirt come from?!" she scolded, waving the broom she was holding around, making her classmates dodge her swings.   
"Minna, Hatsuko-san cleaned up the class by herself. Try not to make things hard for her, will you?"   
  
Hatsuko turned to the voice and saw Kazuo leaning by the door.   
  
"Rukawa-kun! You were supposed to help me with clean up today!" Hatsuko scolded him, with her hands to her hips.   
Kazuo laughed. "You look so cute like that!"   
"Eh?" Hatsuko said, turning a bright shade of pink.   
"Anyways, come over here."   
"What is it?" she asked, walking towards him.   
"Koko," he pointed.   
  
Hatsuko looked down to see a pile of dust and dirt just outside the classroom door.   
  
"Hatsuko-san, how do you expect them not to bring dirt into the classroom when you sweep everything right outside the door?" Kazuo asked her, trying his best not to laugh out loud. He did manage a chuckle though.   
"Mou! It's all your fault! You were supposed to come and help me," she said with a pout.   
  
Just when Kazuo was about to pat her on her head and apologize, Hatsuko tossed the broom into his hands and grinned mischievously.   
  
"I know that you must have a very good reason for being late so as a friend, I'm letting you carry on with the work," Hatsuko said.   
"What?"   
"Hayaku, Rukawa-kun. I can see Sensei turning the corner," she taunted, a smile playing on her lips.   
  
Sure as she said, their teacher had just turned the corner and was marching straight towards them.   
  
"Ja ne, Rukawa-kun! See you in class!" Hatsuko laughed, and left him to stand in the hallway.   
"Hatsuko-san!" Kazuo panicked and began to sweep the dust back into class with some quick swings of the broom.   
  
The dust and dirt began to rise and envelop the class, causing all the students to cough and sneeze.   
  
"Oh no!" Kazuo yelped.   
  
He suddenly felt a sharp tap on his shoulder. Kazuo turned and looked down to find his Sensei glaring at him.   
  
"Er... Ohayou, Sensei…"   
  
**~*~*~*~*~**   
  
Later during lunch break, Kazuo went over to Hatsuko with his arms crossed.   
  
"Hatsuko-san! You made me get detention again!" he whined.   
  
Hatsuko giggled and patted his hand.   
  
"There, there. Don't get all upset. You didn't come and help me this morning remember?"   
"Yeah… but… now I have to do classroom clean up duty for a week," he sulked, pretending to glare at Hatsuko with his sapphire eyes but without success. He only managed to make Hatsuko laugh at him more.   
  
She got up to leave and Kazuo looked as her raven black hair swayed behind her with her every movement; a blue scrunchie holding them in a neat ponytail.   
  
_'A scrunchie?'_ he wondered, immediately feeling around in his pocket for the scrunchie that he had. At the touch of the smooth cloth, his heart was reassured. He wanted to return the scrunchie to her but he felt that the scrunchie was the only thing of hers that he had to hold close to him and he adored Hatsuko dearly.   
  
"Hatsuko-san, your scrunchie looks pretty," he commented.   
"Eh?" Hatsuko turned and blushed. "Arigatou. Your Onii-san gave it to me."   
"Nii-san?" he asked, shocked.   
"H-hai. Is anything the matter?" Hatsuko asked, the blush disappearing from her cheeks as quickly as it came.   
"No, it's nothing," he immediately said, and flashed her a quick smile.   
"Oh, okay," she said, a frown creasing her forehead. "Then, ja."   
  
After Hatsuko had left, Kazuo took out the scrunchie from his pocket and tightened his fist around it. The smile that was on his lips were immediately set into a growl.   
  
"What's so great about Nii-san that everyone likes him anyway?" he shouted, slamming his fist which held the scrunchie into the wall, causing a little dent.   
"It's unfair! It's so unfair!" he continued to shout.   
  
Kazuo leaned against the wall and slid against it to the ground, and slumped in that position. A solitary tear slid down his cheek but he didn't bother to wipe it away. He had never felt so dejected in his life. Sure, all his life he had to match up everything that his brother ever did and so far, he has except in two fields. Basketball and girls. However, the only field that his brother cared about was the former but girls still flocked to him like a moth to a flame, no matter how alike they looked. Girls just seem to love his aloof nature.   
  
"Hatsuko-san…" Kazuo whispered.   
  
  
**Author's note:** Gomen! Gomen! I took way too long to update! *smacks self* I hope that this chapter made up for my baka-ness. Well, here we find out a little about poor Kazuo *pats* And I love making Rukawa act like this ^___^ heh heh. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors. I was in a rush ^^6 


	10. Confession

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk is © Inoue Takehiko and all its other companies. This fanfiction is © Hitora. It is not allowed to be put up on any other site without permission. Other characters in this fiction belongs to Hitora.   
  
**Author's note:** Thanks for the wonderful comments from everyone. I know that most of you think that this fic is going to turn yaoi, and honestly, I don't know about that. I'm just letting the ideas flow ^^6 Even if this fic doesn't turn yaoi, I hope that the reviewers who suggested it to be yaoi will still support this fic. Thank you ^^   
  
**Chapter 10:** Confession   
  
"…"   
  
Rukawa woke up to the sounds of incessant banging on the door and no matter how much he tossed and turned in his bed, he couldn't fall back to sleep. He needed to get rid of its source. Groaning, he trudge down the stairs to the front door, muttering as many d'aho as he strength could muster.   
  
_'Where's Okaa-san and Kazuo anyways?'_   
  
As he unlocked the door and was about to pull it open, the knocking stopped. Rukawa prepared an icy glare to fire at the person who disturbed his precious sleep as he swung the door open.   
  
_'If it's a salesman, I'm going to kill him.'_   
  
Rukawa looked out and saw no one. His sight went beyond his porch and garden to the gate and saw a tuft of red hair sticking out from behind it.   
  
"Oi, d'aho! What are you doing?" he shouted.   
"Erm.. Rukawa-san," a soft voice said, and Rukawa saw a hand waving itself in front of his face.   
  
Looking down, he saw Hatsuko standing right before him; her cheeks flushed pink from the cold of the night. She was wearing an oversized emerald sweater which complimented her toffee-colored smiling eyes and a pair of khaki three-quarter shorts and a pair of bright orange sneakers patterned with swirls. Her layered raven black hair which was let down, cascaded slightly past her shoulders and it looked silky and shiny under the porch lights.   
  
"Omae," Rukawa said, a little surprised.   
"Hai," Hatsuko replied, smiling.   
  
Rukawa cast a glance at Sakuragi who was standing very far away from his house.   
  
"I assume that d'aho did the knocking?"   
Hatsuko gave a weak grin and nodded. "I told Nii-chan to use the doorbell but he refused. He said that you were sleeping and you probably wouldn't wake up."   
Rukawa rolled his eyes but muttered, "That d'aho is right though."   
"And Nii-chan immediately sped off when he heard the door open!" Hatsuko continued and giggled.   
"Hmph."   
  
Suddenly a soft purring could be heard and Hatsuko found Rukawa's kitten rub itself against Rukawa's legs. It was the kitten which Kazuo found for Rukawa and the one which Hatsuko found and returned on the first day that they met.   
  
"Koneko-chan, do you remember me?" Hatsuko asked the not-so tiny kitten, bending low and scratching the kitten behind one of its ears. "Rukawa-san, have you named her yet?"   
  
Rukawa shook his head. Suddenly, a gentle but chilly zephyr blew past. Making up his mind, he invited Hatsuko into his house.   
  
"Might as well ask Sakuragi as well," he muttered.   
"Nii-chan! Rukawa-san's inviting you into his house!" Hatsuko called her brother, shouting very loudly that Rukawa's eyes widened.   
  
When Rukawa saw Sakuragi march to the door, he said, "Not that I intended to invite you in."   
"Teme, Rukawa! I heard that!"   
"You were supposed to, do ahou. That's what you get for disturbing my sleep."   
"ME?! Hatsuko was the one who dragged me here!"   
  
They continued to hurl remarks at each other as they settled on the couch in the living room.   
  
"Mou, Nii-chan! We're guests so please," Hatsuko said rather desperately, sweatdropping.   
"You should learn manners from your sister," Rukawa added, nodding his head at what Hatsuko had just said.   
"Nani?! Tensai wa…"   
"NII-CHAN!"   
  
Sakuragi quickly shut his mouth and bit down on his tongue yet again.   
  
"I believe that's the second time today," Rukawa said.   
"Ypurusfai Rfukawa!!"   
  
Rukawa turned his attention from the red-head to Hatsuko, who was still standing and fiddling with the edge of her sweater looking unsure of herself and very uncomfortable; unlike her uncouth brother who was sprawled on the sofa with his legs on the coffee table.   
  
"Why did you come?"   
"Ano… I want to thank you for lending us the money to pay… the… you know. We will pay you back… zettai… but it will take a while…"   
"I know that," Rukawa cut in.   
"Eh? Erm… I know you know… but… I just thought that you wouldn't trust us… and I want to know when you want the money back…" her voice trailed back.   
"Who said that I don't trust you?" Rukawa thumbed towards Sakuragi. "Him I don't trust."   
  
Hatsuko smiled at that remark, and went towards her brother and playfully kicked his leg.   
  
"Nii-chan, no one trusts you. Not Rukawa-san, not even Sendoh-san!"   
"Sendoh?"   
"Hai," Hatsuko told Rukawa, who had his eyebrows furrowed. "He was at school today…"   
"Again?" Rukawa said, puzzled.   
"Huh? Again?" asked a confused Hatsuko.   
  
Rukawa chose not to say anything and looked at his kitten which suddenly hopped onto his lap.   
  
"Kitsune, what's its name?"   
  
Rukawa stared at Sakuragi.   
  
"That." Sakuragi looked at the kitten. "You should name it after Tensai."   
"Nii-chan, who said that the kitten was a male?" Hatsuko asked. She was seated next to her brother.   
  
"Kiara."   
  
Both Sakuragi and Hatsuko turned to Rukawa's soft response.   
  
"Her name is Kiara. Rukawa Kiara, since she's a part of the Rukawa family."   
Hatsuko grinned. "Rukawa-san, isn't that…"   
  
Rukawa nodded without changing the focus of his gaze on his beloved kitten and lifted her up to his face such that its little pink nose touched Rukawa's. The kitten mewed, revealing its tiny yet sharp teeth and Sakuragi could have sworn that he saw a smile tugging at Rukawa's lips.   
  
"Kawaii…"   
Sakuragi immediately asked, "What's kawaii? And isn't that what?!"   
  
Hatsuko pointed to Rukawa and the kitten.   
  
"Kitsune soretomo Kiara? And isn't that what?!"   
"Nii-chan?" Hatsuko turned to her brother with a smile plastered on her face.   
"H-hai?" Sakuragi asked, taken aback at the expression on his sister's face.   
"Damare nasai."   
  
With a pout, he crossed his arms in front of him.   
  
"Youji," Hatsuko teasingly said, sticking a tongue out at her older brother. Rukawa agreeing wholeheartedly, nodded. [Youji=baby]   
  
Rukawa looked from brother to sister and wondered how they could be related when they were so unalike. Without realizing it, he began to compare himself with his younger brother. Like the Sakuragi siblings, they were also like opposite poles of a magnet. But he wondered why the Sakuragi siblings could be such great company for each other whereas Kazuo and he couldn't.   
His gaze drifted to Hatsuko's hair which was untied and he couldn't help but think about…   
  
"Nii-chan!" Hatsuko slapped Sakuragi on his arm.   
  
When Rukawa saw the scrunchie around her wrist, he breathed a sigh of relief.   
  
_'Kami-sama, what the hell am I thinking?!'_   
  
"Hey, Rukawa, where's Kazuo?"   
"He went to get dinner," Rukawa replied quickly, hiding his thoughts with a bored voice.   
"Er… I think we should go," Hatsuko told her brother, tugging the sleeve of Sakuragi's navy sweater. She then bent to the little kitten. "Ja, Kia… eh?"   
  
The kitten darted off before Hatsuko could pat it goodbye. Rukawa could see that Hatsuko was a little hurt by it, so he said, "Can you get her for me? She can be such trouble."   
  
"Eh? Demo… It's not polite to…"   
"I need to stay here in case this Do ahou does anything to my house."   
"NANI?! TEME! RUKAWA!"   
"Er.. hai…" Hatsuko looked confused but followed the kitten upstairs.   
  
Hatsuko looked around the dark corridor of the second level and saw the kitten's white tail as it slipped into a room through a crack in the door.   
  
"Kiara-chan," Hatsuko whispered. Laughing at herself, she said, "This is silly. Why am I whispering?"   
  
Hatsuko walked to the door. _'Should I go in?'_ she thought. _'It might be Rukawa-san's or Rukawa-kun's and if it's in the state of Nii-chan's room, I definitely don't want to go in.'_   
Hatsuko was thinking of Sakuragi's room with his dirty laundry scattered all over the place, and that included his underwear. Flushing and taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open a wider crack and poked her head in.   
  
"Kiara-chan?"   
  
Sighing with relief at the spotless bedroom tacked with basketball posters after switching on the lights, Hatsuko stepped in.   
  
"Ah… Rukawa-kun's room!" she said cheerfully, upon noticing the Algebra textbook which they used on his desk. Taking a pencil, she drew a chibi picture of herself on their homework page and scribbled her name there, all the while, a mischievous grin playing on her lips.   
Kiara's surprisingly loud mew startled her and Hatsuko accidentally swept her arm across Kazuo's desk; toppling everything to the floor.   
  
"Oh no!"   
  
As Hatsuko scrambled to pick everything up, a familiar piece of fabric peeking from under the bed caught her attention. She reached out for it and rubbed it between her fingers. She found the label and saw her initials on it.   
  
"Watashi no scrunchie?"   
  
Suddenly, the door burst open and Hatsuko screamed in fright. It was Kazuo and he was breathing heavily as he stood by the door, with one of his long arms resting on the door frame.   
  
"Rukawa-kun!"   
"Nii-san asked me to check up on you immediately when I reached home. He thought that you might have gotten lost," Kazuo said through pants.   
  
Suddenly Kiara leapt into Hatsuko's arms and hissed at Kazuo.   
  
"Koneko-chan, I don't know why you seem to dislike me these days when I was the one who found you in the first place," Kazuo continued, looking at Kiara. "Hatsuko-san, you went up here to look for it?"   
"Hai, and she's Kiara-chan now," Hatsuko said.   
"Ah, sou ka?" Kazuo said.   
  
He moved towards Hatsuko and Kiara. Reaching out his hand towards Kiara, he scratched behind its right ear and she purred with pleasure. Kazuo laughed out loud and commented on how simple it was to win her over.   
Suddenly, he realized that Hatsuko was fingering the scrunchie that Hatsuko had lost and he had found weeks ago. His heart began to thump heavily against his chest and new beads of perspiration replaced the old which he received during his run back home.   
  
"That scrunchie…" Kazuo whispered.   
"I found it in your room, Rukawa-kun. Is there something you wish to tell me?" she asked, looking up to his face. She pushed Kiara away and it ran out of the room.   
  
Kazuo quietly shut the door, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.   
_'I'll tell her the truth now.'_   
  
"I found it…" he started.   
"But I didn't give it back because I wanted something that's precious to you to keep!" he blurted suddenly.   
"Eh?" Hatsuko responded.   
  
Both of them were staring at each other now; Hatsuko was surprised, and Kazuo, anxious. Kazuo knew that he wasn't courageous like his brother but right then and there, he summoned all the courage that was in him and took a few tentative steps towards Hatsuko to close the space that was in between them, but Hatsuko kept moving backwards until she was leaning against Kazuo's wardrobe.   
  
"Hatsuko-san, you may not know this but I like you. I like you a lot."   
"Rukawa-kun…" Hatsuko started, but she didn't know what to say.   
"Shh…" he whispered, his voice getting softer by the moment.   
  
As Hatsuko was about to open her mouth to speak again, Kazuo placed a finger to her lips, silencing her immediately. A deep blush appeared on her cheeks.   
  
"Please. Let me finish," he continued. "I… I like you a lot but I don't know your feelings towards me. So, I found your scrunchie… when I followed you home when we played basketball together."   
When Kazuo saw Hatsuko's eyes widen, he added, "I wanted to be sure that you were safe since Sakuragi-san was so worried about you."   
His courage renewed when Hatsuko's eyes softened so he quickly blurted, "When I found the scrunchie, I kept it so that I could feel close to you. I'm sorry."   
  
Embarrassed at what he had just done, Kazuo slammed a fist into his wardrobe, causing a dent in the area just above where Hatsuko was standing. All the while, muttering his apology over and over again. He then leaned forward and rested his forehead against the dent. The way they were standing, it was as though Kazuo was shielding Hatsuko with his height. Protecting her.   
Hatsuko stood still, not knowing how to react as she stared straight before her. Of course the only thing in her view was Kazuo's chest. What was she supposed to say to a good friend who fell in love with her? Did she even feel the same way?   
Suddenly, Hatsuko felt something drip on her head. She immediately looked up to see Kazuo's pained face. Tears were flowing freely from his sapphire eyes and it dripped from his tear-stained cheeks to Hatsuko's flushed pink cheeks.   
  
_'Oh my God! I made Rukawa-kun cry,'_ Hatsuko thought, panic-stricken.   
  
When Kazuo realized that his tears were wetting Hatsuko's face, he quickly stepped away from Hatsuko and roughly wiped his face with the back of his hand.   
  
"I'm… I'm sorry," he whispered. "For crying in front of you like this… for keeping your scrunchie… and… and for falling for you."   
"Rukawa-kun, I…" Hatsuko started.   
  
Kazuo raised a hand to interrupt her. "Do me a favor and don't call me Rukawa-kun."   
  
Hatsuko mouthed opened in an o of surprise but she quickly shut it when Kazuo continued.   
  
"Please call me by my name," he added, almost meekly, looking away.   
  
Kazuo stared at the floor. He was embarrassed at what he did. For everything. It was a mistake to begin with and what did he expect Hatsuko to say to him after all that he's done?   
  
"I'm flattered that you feel that way towards me, Kazuo-kun."   
  
Kazuo's head jerked upwards and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Hatsuko smiling warmly at him.   
  
"However, I don't know what I feel. With all that I'm going through right now, I don't think it's fair if I even accept your feelings and force myself to think of you like more than a friend," she added. "But I do like you, Kazuo-kun. I just don't know how much yet."   
  
Kazuo was about to reply but the door to his room suddenly swung open and his brother stood by it, his face expressionless as usual. In his arms was Kiara.   
  
"Your brother's causing a ruckus downstairs," he said to Hatsuko.   
"Oh, sorry for taking so long, Rukawa-san," Hatsuko apologized. "Sayonara, Rukawa-san! Kazuo-kun!"   
  
Kazuo watched as Hatsuko hurried out of his room and he could hear quite clearly the little squabble the Sakuragi siblings had in the Rukawa living room and the front door shutting close, leaving the brothers in silence.   
He suddenly realized his brother looking at him. No, looking wasn't the right word. It was glaring. Then Rukawa walked off. Kazuo wasn't sure but was it pain in his brother's eyes?   
  
  
**Author's note:** Eep! Throw the rotten fruits and vegetables! ^^6 I deserve it. Well, I sort of knew what to right but every time I finish writing this chapter (yes, I kept on rewriting this chapter over and over again), I wasn't satisfied with the character's expressions ^^ Well, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Oh hey! I have a Sakuragi fic on my fiction site which I haven't posted up yet. . Tell me if I should put it on FFN, will you? Thank you! XD 


	11. The One Who Smiles

**Let One's Heart Decide**   
  
**Disclaimer:** Slam Dunk and all its characters belong to Inoue Takehiko and its rightful companies. All other characters not related to Slam Dunk were created for the sole purpose of supporting this fanfiction. All rights reserved.   
  
**Author's Note:** To everyone who's been reading and reviewing my fic, *hugs* thank you! XD You always made my day by reviewing ^___^ And by introducing my other fic, which is now on ffN titled: Anti-Nostalgia, I actually want support for it and it wasn't an excuse to stop writing this fic @__@ I love writing this fic and I love all the characters in it! ^___^ I definitely will not stop until I finish this! XD   
  
**Chapter 11:** The One Who Smiles   
  
_'It's been almost a month since I've professed my feelings to Hatsuko-san but it doesn't seem to matter because she's acting as though nothing happened.'_   
  
Kazuo turned to look at Hatsuko who was deep in concentration, as she sat at the first row of the class, right next to the windows. Occasionally, she'd look out of the window and would keep looking until the teacher whacked her on her head with a paper fan he made especially for the 'notorious' Sakuragi and Rukawa siblings. The elder ones tend to make lesson time their sleeping sessions whereas the younger ones often don't realize that they were spacing out until they get whacked hard by the fan.   
  
_'Hatsuko-san has been quieter too. Could it be…'_   
"ITAI!" Kazuo yelped, shielding his head.   
He looked up to see his sensei glowering at him, with his sensei's trusty fan several inches above Kazuo's head, in preparation for another hard whacking.   
"Sensei!" Kazuo protested.   
"What are you objecting for?!" his sensei growled. "You deserve to get hit for not paying attention in class!"   
"Datte! Sensei!!"   
Kazuo received a harder whack this time and the whole class erupted in laughter. All except for Hatsuko, who just kept gazing out of the classroom window, oblivious to the ruckus around her.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
Sakuragi was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he merrily walked to his sister's class; Yohei not far behind trying to keep up with the redhead's huge strides which were huger than usual since he was acting like a bouncing ball.   
  
"Hanamichi, can you please slow down? I can't keep up with you," Yohei called from more than three feet away, trying to walk as quickly as he could.   
"NYAHAHA! You should train and be a sportsman, Yohei! Then you can keep up with Tensai!" Sakuragi practically shouted, causing everyone within a 5 meter radius of him to wince.   
Sakuragi suddenly halted and Yohei who was walking too fast slammed into his friend and fell backwards. Sakuragi, being the muscle-bound being that he was, barely moved an inch by the hard impact.   
  
"Why'd you stop so suddenly?" Yohei asked, nursing his behind by rubbing it.   
"Tensai was thinking. Even if you did become a sportsman, you'll still not be able to keep up with Tensai," Sakuragi murmured, in deep thought, then laughed at it.   
  
"Sakuragi-san!"   
"Hrm?" Sakuragi looked up to see Kazuo rushing towards him, looking pretty much breathless.   
"Have you seen Hatsuko-san?"   
Sakuragi looked at Kazuo and laughed out loud. "You're just like your brother! Stamina-less!"   
"Hanamichi!" Yohei sweatdropped. "We were just headed for your class to see her, Kazuo."   
  
Kazuo scratched his head thoughtfully.   
  
"What's the matter though?" Sakuragi asked, after having a good laugh.   
"Well, she's been disappearing around this time for the past three weeks or so… and… well, she was out of class just now before I could talk to her."   
"Worried about her, aren't you?" Sakuragi grinned wildly, and nudged Kazuo in the ribs.   
"Sakuragi-san! Aren't you worried about your sister?" Kazuo asked exasperatedly, trying to fight down the blush that had begun to spread across his pale cheeks.   
"Hrm, good point," Sakuragi said, causing Kazuo to roll his eyes.   
"Well, the Sakuragi siblings have a tendency to disappear a lot. Like this tough guy here," Yohei looked pointedly at Sakuragi. "He keeps coming to class during lunch."   
"And Hatsuko-san keeps disappearing during lunch…" Kazuo added.   
  
With a 'hm' as though they were putting two and two together, Sakuragi slowly edged away.   
  
"Sakuragi-san!"   
"Hanamichi!"   
  
When the two called his name in unison, Sakuragi dashed off in a burst of speed and ran into…   
  
"OW!"   
"Itai!"   
  
Groaning, Sakuragi looked up to see that he had run all the way to the school gates and collided into his sister and a person who looked vaguely familiar.   
"Nii-chan! What do you think you're doing?!" Hatsuko grumbled, as the stranger pulled Hatsuko to her feet. "You could have killed us!"   
"Tai-chan, daijoubu?"   
"Tai-chan?" Sakuragi raised an eyebrow and gave the stranger a once look over. He then proceeded to glare at the person who was about the same height as he. _'Or is he taller?'_ Sakuragi wondered.   
  
The person called 'Tai-chan' grinned at Sakuragi despite the latter's murderous glare and bowed. "I'm Kikuchi Taira. Douzo yoroshiku."   
  
Finally, after a lot more glaring, despite Hatsuko's glares directed towards him, Sakuragi grinned back.   
  
"You're Taira!"   
  
With a nod, Taira nodded and smiled.   
  
"Erm…" Sakuragi tilted his head sideways.   
"Nii-chan! He's my best friend from when Kaa-chan and I lived in Tokyo! Remember?"   
"OH!!!" Sakuragi grabbed Taira's hand and gave it a hearty handshake which caused the still grinning Taira to grin painfully. "Glad to finally meet you, after many years."   
"Same here, Hana-ii," Taira replied.   
  
Sakuragi yelped and clamped his hand over Taira's mouth.   
"Don't call me that anymore!!" he whispered fiercely into Taira's ears. The last time Taira called him that was approximately ten years ago.   
Sakuragi noticed his uniform and yelped again. "You're from that school! That school with that golden-haired monkey who likes my Haruko-san!!!"   
  
Taira frowned in confusion, and Hatsuko had to explain to him.   
  
"I'm from Tsukubu and you were talking about Rango-san?"   
"Is that his name? I forgot," Sakuragi simply said and muttered curses under his breath. "You're in basketball?"   
"Iie, tennis."   
"Good, don't talk to that stupid Ringo (apple) person. You'll end up being stupid as him."   
"Saa… it's Rango. Rango."   
"I don't care about that baka," Sakuragi waved his hand dismissively.   
  
"I have to go. See you later then, Tai-chan?" Hatsuko looked at Taira, and with a grin and a nod from the latter, she was off.   
"Oi! You're missing classes!" Sakuragi called to her.   
"And you're not?" came her reply. "You're always gone in the mornings. I know, Nii-chan!!"   
  
With an amused grin at how similar his sister was to him, Sakuragi turned to Taira.   
  
"You're skipping school?"   
"Oh no, no. There's a school carnival later so all the students get to leave early."   
"Sou…" Sakuragi rubbed his chin.   
"I came here to invite Hat-chan since I haven't seen her in ages. You're invited too, of course, Sakuragi-san."   
  
As soon as Taira said that, Sakuragi put his arm over Taira's shoulders.   
  
"You really know how to please your friend's brother! It's free for me, right?"   
"Er… right. Just for you and Hat-chan though."   
  
"Sakuragi-san! Why did you run away from us?" cried the panting Kazuo, with Yohei straggling along after the former.   
"We're missing our lunch," Yohei pointed out.   
"Tell me where's Hatsuko-san," Kazuo pleaded.   
With a tsk, Sakuragi said, "A man should not act like that."   
  
"Hat-chan? Are they Hat-chan's friends?" Taira asked cheerfully.   
  
Kazuo was so worried about Hatsuko that he did not pay any notice to the handsome guy who was grinning despite the weight of Sakuragi's arm around his shoulder… until now.   
_'He's calling Hatsuko-san **Hat-chan**!!'_   
  
Trying not to glower at the guy and taking a deep breath to calm himself, Kazuo asked, "And you are?"   
"Kikuchi Taira, a friend of Hat-chan's since we were little."   
"Ah, Kiku-"   
"Taira's fine," Taira interrupted. "Let's not get formal. I prefer being casual."   
"Nice to meet you, Taira," Kazuo said and smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes like it used to. "I'm Rukawa Kazuo."   
Taira bowed and replied but Kazuo barely noticed.   
  
Shrugging, Taira turned his attention to Sakuragi and Yohei, and Kazuo took the opportunity to scrutinize the person who spoke and called the name of the girl of his dreams so casually.   
He noticed that Taira was slightly taller that Sakuragi, although this was barely noticeable. His brown eyes were of such a deep shade that it looked almost black, that kind of gave him an air of mystery, but that disappears everything he smiles as his eyes tend to sparkle when he does. His skin was tan; and he had a built to die for, in Kazuo's opinion, as he felt that he was a plank compared to the guy. He could already tell just from the look of his arm!   
Taira suddenly laughed out loud when Sakuragi said something, and as he did, his longish black hair with streaks of blue highlighted into it swept back to display multiple piercings on his left ear. Kazuo couldn't help but wonder if he had just as many on his right.   
  
Suddenly, Kazuo realized that everyone was looking at him.   
  
"What?"   
"Do you want to come to Tsukubu's School Carnival today?" Taira asked, a grin on his face.   
_'Is it just me or am I the only one who's getting all vexed by that grin of his?'_ Kazuo wondered, with a frown.   
"Hat-chan will be there," Taira added.   
Without hesitation, Kazuo replied, "I'm going."   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"What are you doing?" Rukawa asked as he walked past his brother's room. It was in a mess, and that wasn't normal by Kazuo's standards.   
"Finding my cologne," Kazuo said from pile of clothes strewn carelessly onto the carpeted floor. By the sound of his muffled voice, Rukawa assumed that his brother was buried under that pile of clothes.   
  
Just as Rukawa was about to walk off carrying his basketball, his brother spoke again.   
  
"What?"   
"Help me find my cologne!" Kazuo called out again. His head popped out from the pile of clothes, which confirmed Rukawa's suspicion of his brother being buried alive, and he looked as though he was about to cry with his pale face red with frustration.   
  
Rukawa entered his brother's room and looked around, trying not to think about the love confession his brother made to Hatsuko in that very same room. His sapphire eyes spotted the bottle of cologne sitting perfectly on a stack of books. Picking it up, he looked at it. Hugo Boss. Dark Blue.   
  
"Do ahou," Rukawa called his brother, and when Kazuo was in view, Rukawa tossed the bottle at him with the latter barely catching it.   
"And you call yourself a basketball player?"   
"I can only catch basketballs and things that are around that size or bigger," Kazuo mutter indignantly.   
  
Rukawa abandoned the thought of the basketball court calling to him and sat on his brother's lumpy bed instead and watched as he pulled on a neatly ironed collared shirt, and buttoned it up.   
  
"Where are you going?"   
"Tsukubu's carnival. Hatsuko-san's childhood friend invited me. That do ahou," Kazuo grumbled angrily as he sprayed all over himself with his cologne.   
  
That caused Rukawa to raise an eyebrow, not that Kazuo would notice since Kazuo was too busy dressing up and being upset, and for the fact that Rukawa's eyebrows were hidden beneath his bangs.   
  
"That idiot calls Hatsuko-san 'Hat-chan', and he's all friendly with Sakuragi-san," Kazuo continued to whine.   
"And you're going to try and impress her with that?" Rukawa asked nonchalantly.   
"And what's wrong with what I'm wearing?"   
"Do ahou. Look in the mirror."   
  
Kazuo stomped to the full-length mirror on the front of his wardrobe and groaned. His brother was right. He was a do ahou. There were splotches of cologne all over his shirt and basically, he looked too dressed-up.   
  
"You used too much cologne. You reek of it. Wash up."   
"Fine fine," Kazuo muttered, heading for the bathroom. "Thanks for telling me."   
"Hn."   
  
A few minutes later, Kazuo's poked his head into his room.   
  
"Nii-san, what are you still doing here?"   
"Waiting for you," said Rukawa as he spun and balanced the basketball he brought along on his index finger.   
"Huh?"   
"I'm going. Tsukubu's carnival."   
"What?"   
"Do ahou. Hurry up."   
  
Kazuo scowled and left again.   
  
"Do ahou."   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
"Are you sure that Kazuo-kun said he'll come, Nii-chan? He's more than an hour late."   
"Definitely," Sakuragi replied.   
  
Then he and Taira proceeded to act out the scene that noon.   
  
"Hat-chan will be there," Taira said in a manly voice.   
"I'm going!" Sakuragi replied enthusiastically, in a high-pitched voice.   
  
Hatsuko turned crimson, when suddenly, an annoyed voice replied, "I don't sound like that."   
  
She turned around to see Kazuo with a scowl on his face and was even more surprised to see his brother standing a little behind him, with his usual standoffish expression.   
  
"Rukawa-san! You came too!" Hatsuko greeted him, waving.   
  
Rukawa looked at her, nodded, and turned away.   
"You took long enough, Kazuo," Sakuragi complained. "Did Kitsune keep you waiting?"   
"I made Nii-san wait, actually," Kazuo scratched his head, and said sheepishly.   
  
Taira looked at the two brothers and smiled at them but they acted really cold and glared at him instead, causing him to back up a little.   
  
Sakuragi looked at his sister and frowned as she spoke enthusiastically to Taira, with the Rukawa siblings glaring at the victim. He then looked disapprovingly at the clothes she was wearing. She was wearing a sky blue sleeveless top which she told him was called a spaghetti, and in his opinion, it was much too revealing for his sister to wear something like that. But he then began to imagine his Haruko-san in it, and his face turned crimson.   
  
"Nii-chan, you're turning red," Hatsuko pointed out, amused.   
"Am not!" he growled and stomped off, dragging his sister along and Taira along. "We are going together."   
  
With his eyes widening, Kazuo ran after them and with a sigh, Rukawa followed. He stopped when he saw that Sakuragi was shouting loudly at someone with blond bangs.   
  
_'The golden-haired monkey. That was fast.'_   
  
"Where's Haruko-chan?"   
"Why should she come to a stupid carnival, saru?!"   
"Then why are you here?"   
  
Rukawa sighed, and looked as Tsukubu's so-called ace, Rango, have a impetuous battle of words with Shohoku's do ahou, Sakuragi.   
  
"Don't make a scene, do ahou," Rukawa said.   
"Who's making a scene, kitsune?!" the two yelled back in unison.   
  
A crowd of visitors already began to crowd around the group.   
  
"This is embarrassing," Hatsuko murmured and quietly left the scene with Taira and Kazuo in tow.   
  
With a huff, Rango said, "This is Tsukubu's Basketball Club booth. Pass through the entire team and make a shot. A successful play will get you anything from there."   
He then proceeded to point to large stand with various prizes ranging from stuffed animals, treats, and more.   
"Five consecutive shots will win you an autographed Tsukubu jersey," he continued.   
  
"Who the hell would want to win a Tsukubu jersey?! With disgusting autographs on it too!" Sakuragi laughed.   
  
Rukawa nodded in response.   
  
"Cowards, aren't you?"   
  
"You're on, saru!" Sakuragi and Rukawa said, their eyes murderous.   
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~**   
  
Kazuo followed Taira and Hatsuko, sulking all the way. Every so often, Taira would turn and send a smile his way but Kazuo would ignore him but simply focus on Hatsuko. He needed to talk to her.   
  
_'Look at me, Hatsuko-san. Please.'_   
  
It was as if she heard his plea, Hatsuko stopped to turn and look at Kazuo for a moment before looking at the ground, an expression that his brother would usually wear masking her face.   
  
"Tai-chan, why don't you get us some drinks?"   
  
Taira frowned but nodded, before setting off.   
  
"Hatsuko-san…"   
"Kazuo-kun," she interrupted. "I've kept you waiting…" she shifted the gaze of her honey brown eyes from the ground to look into his sapphire ones. "And I'm sorry. Sorry for making you wait… and sorry for my…"   
"It's okay," Kazuo said, a forced smile on his face. "I understand. I'm sorry if I was too forceful."   
"Kazuo-kun. I…" Hatsuko started, looking horrified. "That's not…"   
"You like someone else, but at least I tried, didn't I?" he choked, before turning away.   
"Kazuo-kun!" she called, but he's retreating back refused to turn. _'That's not what I meant. That's not what I meant at all…'_   
  
  
**Author's Note:** Wow, I took so long on this. Sorry everyone ^^6 And those who've been urging me on, thank you. I'm kind of having problems with all my stories. I see the plot but writing them down is kind of hard for me lately. I don't know why ^^6 Well, hope this chapter was good enough. I think it's pretty lame though -___-* 


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